Over My Undead Body
by TheKillerTigerbunny
Summary: The infection spread and the team split. Can they work together to save the world or will it all be over because of what Nate did five years ago? P/H S/N
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Hello again! I hope you enjoy the new story. It will have longer chapters than 'The Hangover: Leverage Style' and be more in-depth with the characters. I'm taking a more dramatic writing position with this story, with more danger, romance and betrayal.

The story will revolve more around the team dynamic than on zombies, if you were concerned about that aspect.

Remember, I update faster with reviews! :)

Chapter 1

It had been 5 years this month, Nate remembered. It stung event to thing back to the time when all five were together; each, a unique and important part of his family and his life. Then it was gone, up like a puff of smoke, disappearing forever.

It surprised Nate to be thinking back to that time as the worst moment in his life, when the obvious answer only happened a year ago. The virus took over like a plague, starting in the Congo. The disease, much like Ebola was a mystery at first. Premature cases were said to be due to primates, but not proven. The first few victims were considered isolated incidents, but soon the doctors were infected, then the transport trucks, into the villages, then to cities, then onto airplanes. It was difficult to control, and unfortunately, it spread.

Nate knocked hard on the bunker door with his calloused knuckles. Two women stood nervously behind him, each checking over her shoulder.

"He's not going to help us, Nate." The British woman behind him relented. "We need to get out of here, there are too many of them."

"Sophie, we don't have a choice." Nate knew it was a long-shot, but this bunker was his last hope. They waited a few more moments. Sophie pulled on the extra fabric of his coat jacket, gently trying to pull him back to the jeep.

She wanted to tell him it was okay to give up sometimes, but this time she couldn't. This time, they couldn't give up, they didn't have the option.

"What do you want?" A noise came from the intercom next to the bunker door.

"Let us in, Hardison." Sophie called out. There was a long pause, almost too long.

"How do I know you aren't infected?" He asked. His voice cracked a little, and there were no jokes. Very unlike the Hardison they knew.

"Give me a break." Nate chided, sending a nasty look at the intercom. "Does it look like we've been infected?"

There was another pause. Nate knew he was burning bridges.

"How can we prove we're not infected?" The small voice from behind them spoke up for the first time. The girl was doe-eyed with curly red hair.

There was still no response. Nate was sure that Hardison stopped listening, but heard a loud clink come from the door. It unlocked and all three sighed in relief. Nate quickly twisted the metal wheel, opening the door. Sophie grabbed the rifle that was leaning against her leg and followed the other two inside.

If they'd thought that Hardison was letting them into his secret bunker, they were wrong.

"It's the holding cell." Hardison's voice echoed around them. The room flashed red, on and off and every few seconds they could see the metal pipes lining the walls and the cemented floor.

"Over here." Sophie called. She stood by the new door. There was no intercom on this door; instead it was replaced with a miniature blood tester. It appeared to Nate to be adapted from a finger pricking device used for testing blood sugar in diabetes patients.

"Test yourselves." Hardison echoed again.

"Ow!" Nate yelped as Sophie pricked his finger with the device.

"Shut-up you big baby." Sophie chuckled. Nate glared at her in disapproval.

"See, all clean!" Sophie called out after each test came back negative for the virus.

All three covered their ears when a loud tonal beep cut through silence in the room, then the door clinked open.

Nate was floored. It shouldn't have surprised him that Hardison would be ahead of the game as far as living necessities were concerned, but this was a whole other ballgame. It was like an underground mansion with clean floors, spotless painted walls, and priceless art. There were even fake windows showing a beautiful blue sky with people playing golf in the distance. It almost looked real, but the screen flickered for a moment signaling a monitor built into the wall.

"Is that Botticelli's _The Birth of Venus?"_ Sophie stopped in the hallway and stared at it in awe. She leaned her head in closer to get a better look at the brush strokes.

"The original."

Sophie jerked her head up at the new voice. There, right in front of her was a man she hadn't seen in five years. Age definitely played to his advantages, but stress did not. He looked fit and his clothes were perfect, as though he'd sent them out to the dry cleaners that very day. She could tell though, by the way his body strained and by the bags under his eyes that life underground was not all it was cracked up to be. Though maybe that wasn't what kept him up at night.

Sophie nodded in approval.

"I told you that I'm not interested." Hardison scolded sending a dark glare towards Nate.

"Ehh, the radio was breaking up, bad signal probably." Nate responded avoiding Hardison's gaze.

Hardison made a face and Nate knew the lie was no good.

"Look, we came all this way. Could you at least show us around?" Sophie pleaded. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Back in the day, she was the heart of the family, maybe she still had some of that magic left in her to smooth the edges over.

Hardison looked at the three of them, nodded and turned to walk back down the hallway. They followed behind, taking quick moments to admire the other priceless art that lined the hallway.

After giving the tour of the kitchen, living room, bedroom, workout room, water purification room, generator room, computer room, and a few others, they settled in the dining room over a warm meal.

"How did you get fresh vegetables? I haven't had fresh broccoli in months." Sophie questioned, salivating at the choices. She basically inhaled her dinner plate.

Hardison's lip twitched. "Home grown." He said sitting up a little higher in his seat.

"Amazing." The redhead breathed staring wide eyed at her plate.

"So, who are you?" He asked the redhead.

"Oh!" Sophie interrupted. "I'm so rude. This is Caroline. Caroline Ramsey."

"Nice to meet you." She squeaked. "Thank you so much for the food."

"No problem." Hardison answered.

Hardison had avoided people ever since the year started. He knew that trusting people only lead to danger and death, but he had to admit, it was nice having someone else to talk to.

"So, I didn't see the Dagger of Aqu'Abi in your art collection." Nate smirked.

Hardison gave a sidelong glance at him, and then smiled. "It's in the other room, with the expensive collection."

_That's the Hardison I remember._ Sophie grinned. It didn't take much to make a crack in his icy shell.

"So, I know you don't want to hear it, but we need your help." Nate saw Hardison's grin disappear faster than the blink of an eye.

Sophie gave Nate a hard kick under the table. He winced, but ignored her.

"I told you-" Hardison started with a dark tone.

"I know what you told us, but this is more important. This is about saving lives."

"No. I look out for number one." Hardison answered firmly. Caroline watched as he clenched his fork a little tighter.

"There are people out there dying, Hardison. We can save them." Nate pushed, sitting forward a bit and looking Hardison in the eye.

"I'll pass. But thanks."

"What the hell happened to you? What happened to doing the right thing? Helping people?"

Hardison jerked up, his chair sliding back. Nate followed suit across the table countering him. Caroline gulped trying to fade into the background while Sophie shook her head in annoyance.

"Nate, will you sit down and shut-up." Sophie hissed. The conversation needed to happen, but not so suddenly, and definitely not by Nate.

He ignored her again.

"Don't you dare talk about doing the right thing!" Hardison growled. "Especially, not to me."

With that, Hardison stormed out of the dining area and into his bedroom, blasting the music as loud as he could to drown out the thoughts of his past.

"You are a bloody idiot." Sophie whispered angrily at Nate.

"Thanks." He responded sarcastically making his bed on the couch with some sheets they found in one of the closets.

"You of all people won't win him over by giving a speech on moral and ethical obligations." Nate ignored her. She followed him around the couch as he continued to tuck the sheet into the couch cushions.

She threw her arms up in frustration, shoved him onto the couch and stormed into the guest bedroom.

The room was light blue, a twin bed on either side hugging the walls. She could feel the vibration of sound coming from Hardison's room, but chose to ignore it, appreciating that he let them in at all.

She sat on her bed and looked over at Caroline as she began taking her shoes off. The soles of her feet were asking for a good massage. The curly redhead was hidden behind a thick textbook with the words 'Secrets of the Amygdalae' by Harold Ramsey and Louis Craver printed on the cover.

"Do you think he will help us?" Caroline asked, peeking over her book.

Sophie contemplated. Hardison was the type of person who, under his prideful exterior, would always do the right thing. The only question that remained in Sophie's mind was whether Hardison was still the same person from five years ago. She wasn't so sure anymore. She'd seen a sliver of hope, but yet again, Nate managed to snuff it out within seconds.

"I hope so." Sophie answered as she crawled into the clean covers. She would have elaborated, giving Caroline more encouragement, but the bed pulled her into unconsciousness within moments.

_The next day:_

Hardison was not thawed out the following morning. He had not joined them in the kitchen for breakfast, but walked straight into his high tech computer room.

"If you say anything, I swear I will kill you myself." Sophie commanded. Nate nodded and took another bite of cereal.

Hardison got up to follow his morning routine minus breakfast. He was in no mood to see Nate. Instead, he started his computer up and began his usual satellite searches.

"What are you looking for?" Sophie asked, peeking her head around the door.

Hardison quickly minimized the screen and swiveled his chair around. "Nothing." He answered.

She gently stepped in the room, testing his reaction. She slowly made her way in and scooted a chair up to him.

"Hardison, I have to say, what you've done here is amazing."

Hardison looked down. "You don't need to compliment me Sophie,_ you_ didn't do anything wrong."

She paused. He was referring to the past. Of all the things she could talk her way out of, this one that was one topic that she would never be able broach with the team.

"How long will your supplies last?" Sophie questioned, fiddling with a paper clip on the desk.

"Two years, maybe three." He responded, leaning back in his chair.

"And what then?" Sophie asked.

"And then everyone is dead anyway." His voice cracked again.

Sophie wanted to phrase her words carefully. She knew that he could either be of tremendous help or tremendously difficult.

"You know Caroline out there?"

Hardison nodded.

"Her father created the cure."

"Pssh" Hardison mocked. "Please. Every cure they've found has either sped up the process or killed the test subjects instantly."

"Yes, but all the others didn't diagnose the problem."

"Yeah, yeah, this one diagnoses the brain abnormality" Hardison inserted.

Sophie stopped short. "How…?"

"You never know whose listening." Hardison murmured. "It's easier to hack into your web feed with General Locke than you think."

Sophie was shocked. They worked very hard to encrypt the web feed to prevent grungy thieves from looting the location.

"You could save the world, Hardison….You could save…" Sophie almost let it slip. Hardison whipped his head up. "…everyone." Sophie finished lamely.

"I don't want to save everyone." Hardison swiveled his chair back around to the computer and pulled up the satellite imaging again.

"It's my brother and my father." He heard from the doorway.

Hardison didn't turn around. _Don't give in to the guilt trip. You always give into the guilt trip._

"I need to find them." She pleaded quietly. "To save them."

"I'm sorry, it's too late for them." He voiced without looking at her.

"No it isn't!" She said angrily storming up behind Hardison. "Don't you have a family?"

"Not anymore." Hardison voiced, careful not to look at Sophie.

"Well, if you did, wouldn't you do anything for them? Anything to know that they were okay and safe?"

This time it was Sophie's turn to meld into the background.

Hardison was silent. "Just because you gave up…doesn't mean we all have." Caroline whispered.

"I didn't give up." He growled.

"It sure looks like it." Nate spoke up as he walked in the room. He glanced over at Sophie who was sending him death glares.

There was a long and icy silence. No one had the guts to speak up.

Hardison pressed a few keys on his keyboard and the satellite image zoomed and landed on a skyscraper. "Do you see all those specs down here?" He pointed toward the entrance of the Skyscraper, "those are the infected. And they are all over the building. And on top of that, the building security system is a monster to hack."

"Their security system?"

"Just because there aren't people to run it doesn't mean it isn't working. The windows are painted with a light absorbing filament, hundreds of window solar panels give the skyscraper electricity, which powers the system, which makes it a pain to get into, not to mention the infected that are hiding inside."

"Sounds like you can't hack it." Nate challenged.

"Please. I can hack anything." Hardison leaned back in his chair with his arms behind his head.

"Then prove it. Come with us." Nate softened. "Please."

Hardison had taken the rest of the day to himself. While running on the treadmill, he had time to think. He struggled beyond anything, with the idea of working with Nate again, especially after last time. He knew that it was the right thing, to save lives, but he would be giving up his home, his safety.

After finally agreeing to go with Nate, Sophie and Caroline, the next few days were spent organizing their travel route, identifying viable gas pumps along the way, isolating low infected areas for overnight and stocking Hardison's tricked out mobile home for the trip. They were almost ready.

"I call her Lucy" Hardison gushed introducing them to his mobile home. They admired the elaborate wiring and capabilities of this moving home.

"Not Lucille this time?" Sophie questioned looking back at Hardison as she carried the final box of canned food up into the vehicle.

"Nah, Lucille IV is in the other garage. Big Lucy is what I use to go on trips." Hardison patted the side of the home. The mobile home was black with three bold blue stripes riding from the front to the back.

"Hardison, do you have everything you need for the break in?" Nate asked walking up with a few pistols he pulled from their jeep the day before.

"I'm all set. We will need to head out early tomorrow morning so we can arrive mid-day, get what we need and get out of town before the lurkers come out." Hardison suggested.

"Agreed." Nate answered feeling more in control than he had in months. Even only having one member of his team back on board made the world of difference to him. Like a piece of his soul re-ignited. Hardison had even had an 'almost' conversation with him the other day about the best way to set up an encrypted network.

_There is hope yet._ Nate thought to himself. _But so help me, I will let the zombies have him if he quotes Star Trek the entire way._


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

I know you are all wondering where Eliot and Parker are, but remember, good things come to those who wait. ;)

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 2

Nate had to admit, this decked out RV had its advantages. While Sophie and Caroline napped in the back with the bed, Hardison and himself started the long drive to Washington D.C.

Hardison felt good seeing some change of scenery. It had been three months since he'd gone on a solid road trip. The computer games and movies only lasted so long before he began itching to escape his golden prison. Most of the time he felt alone, not that he would tell any of them. Before the team had been formed, he liked being alone, but after they had come together and really made a difference, there was no going back and it felt like there was now a hole in his heart.

Nate was driving, which gave Hardison the opportunity to really look at the changes that had taken place from the last time he had emerged from his bunker. The roads were clear for the most part, some cars were haphazardly strewn on the curb, and some smashed in the side, as trucks driving through, shoved them off the road. Even Big Lucy had a metal grate in the front, similar to the one on the front of a train originally meant to shove cows off of the railroad tracks. Out on the highway it was less likely to see the infected as they had either migrated toward the city or lay dead on the side of the road.

"The sky is so blue." Hardison commented to no one in particular.

Nate nodded. "It really makes a difference when three-fourths of the world's population stops driving and emitting gas and waste in the air and water."

Hardison felt somewhat uncomfortable sitting next to the man that ruined their friendship to begin with. Hardison had noticed over the past few days that Nate's hair was now graying around the edges and he didn't stay as clean shaven, stubble permanently apparent on his face.

"I guess that would do it." Hardison added.

There was a silence; a long silence. Both were aware of the elephant in the room.

"You would have done it too." Nate said strongly, referring to the horrible past. Hardison could hear the suffering in his voice.

Hardison chanced a glance in Nate's direction, but he remained focused on the road.

Hardison looked out his passenger side window. "I know." Hardison answered quietly.

Neither spoke after that.

As the sun rose in the sky, and Sophie ambled up to the front glancing out of the front window.

"Where are we?" She asked as they pulled to a stop.

"Just past New York City" Nate answered. "We decided to go the long way around to avoid the heavy infected population."

Sophie nodded. "Mind a quick bathroom break?" She asked.

They pulled off to the right side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Both women travelled to a more discreet area, Sophie with a rifle in tow. The men just stood at the edge of the tall grass and took care of business. Hardison felt strange doing something so private next to another man, particularly because he hadn't been near another person in almost five months.

"AHHHHH!" Someone screamed.

Nate and Hardison whipped around towards the girls. Nate could tell by the scream it was Caroline and they raced toward her.

Caroline's face was pale as she tripped over herself trying to backpedal. Sophie shoved her back like a protective mother holding the rifle firmly.

There, not ten feet away was a woman with a heavy right limp, growling and making her way to them. The woman's clothes were covered in mud and a large gouge was taken out of her left arm. You could see the bone broken and sticking out. It was grotesque, but Sophie had seen worse. The woman made another loud growl trying to speed up in her ruined business jacket and skirt, barefoot. The woman's skin was almost green, in the later stages of decay. The smell was rancid and grew as the woman lunged her way closer.

Sophie hesitated. She hated the feeling she got whenever she held a rifle up to an infected. This was some ones mother, sister, and wife.

The woman got closer.

"Shoot it!" Caroline yelped behind, looking around wildly for any other infected that might pop out of the brush.

To her surprise, a loud shot rang out and the woman's head exploded, sending chunks everywhere. She watched as the body lost animation and flopped to the ground like a dead fish.

Caroline let out another yelp as Nate lowered his rifle, smoke dissipating at the muzzle.

"Everyone okay?" Hardison called out, carefully walking up to Caroline, lifting her up from the ground.

Sophie sent a grateful glance toward Nate. He responded with a subtle and heartfelt nod.

Once they had gotten back on the road, Sophie replayed the adrenaline pumping moment in her mind. The woman would have killed them, yet she still hesitated. Sophie hated the infection more than anything. You can't grift a zombie that wants to rip you to pieces. Grifting took a hit, just like the economy did. Bullies and thieves were in demand, while lies and cunning trickery were out.

"Caroline, you have to calm down." Nate said as Sophie took over the driving.

"I know." She blubbered. "My brother showed me Night of the Living Dead when I was young. Ever since then I was scared of zombies." She made a high pitched noise, somewhere between a sob and an ironic laugh. "And now, look what happens, the movie is real."

Nate patted her on the back. She was nearly 27, but her innocence and fear made her appear much younger. The red curls bobbed as she grabbed for the textbook and began reading.

Hardison spent the next few hours huddled by his computer typing away. Every so often he would make a frustrated huff or shout a curse.

"I can't figure out why I can't get in on the wifi network." Hardison barked. "I guess we need to be in closer range."

"Well, you'll get the chance." Nate offered. "We'll be there in about two hours."

Hardison ignored him and started typing again.

"So how is this going to work?" Sophie called back from the driver's seat.

Caroline looked up, also interested.

"Basically, we get right up to the building, Hardison will get us inside…" Nate glanced over at Hardison for reaffirmation, but got none. "Then, he'll get us an elevator up to the top floor where…"

"My father and brother are." Caroline piped up.

"-Where the cure is being held." Nate replaced.

"And this building, where is it located exactly?" Sophie questioned, frustrated that she didn't spend her time planning with Hardison and Nate the past few days.

"The William T. Golden Center for Science and Engineering." Caroline called out without looking up. "It's right near Capitol Hill."

"We are headed in the city center?" Sophie asked in disbelief.

"No one said this would be easy." Nate responded.

"Damnit!" Hardison yelled as he threw his arms up in frustration.

_Two hours later: _

"I said merge onto New York Avenue, not Anacostia Freeway! You never listen." Sophie barked at Nate.

Nate heaved and took a sharp turn swinging the RV onto New York Avenue. Caroline screeched and Hardison braced himself as the home tipped on it's side.

"There, you happy now!" Nate shot back to Sophie. Sophie glared at him and went silent, crossing her arms.

"I swear, if you two get my Lucy in an accident in the center of Washington D.C. I will come back as a zombie and kill you all!" Hardison called from the back.

Everyone went silent. Now only the sounds of the infected humans being shoved to the side by the front grate was all that was heard.

After another simple turn they stopped in front of the thirty story building.

"Here it is." Nate voiced. "The William T. Golden Center for Science and Engineering."

All four crowded around the front window pane and craned their necks to look up as high as they could. A few of the glass windows about twenty stories up were broken through, but for the most part, the building was intact.

A thump on the side of Big Lucy let the group know that they were not alone. Infected businessmen wandered around with bloody suits, infected homeless crawled along the sidewalks, even the hot dog stand employee across the street clawed at the air a few times.

"Hardison, now it's your turn." Nate turned to him with a solemn look.

Hardison nodded and sat back down at his computer. A few infected thumped on the side of the home, but Big Lucy was strong. No one was worried, yet.

Hardison continued to type with furrowed brows. "There." Hardison said. "The front doors are unlocked." He bit his lip. "That really shouldn't have been that difficult." He said more to himself then to the others, who looked at him intently.

"Who cares?" Caroline said. "Let's go!"

"No, no." Nate held up a hand. "You are staying in the car with Hardison, this is too dangerous."

"No, I need to get my father and brother!" Caroline responded. "I should be there."

"Sophie and I are going. We will bring an extra earbud for them so they can hear your voice."

Caroline quieted down. She hated that her crippling fear of the undead kept her from being the hero. She'd read books of women who have done great things. She was definitely not one of them. Hell, she didn't even have the courage to go rescue her father and brother.

Hardison kept typing. "I am having trouble hacking into the security feed, so there's no telling what you will see when you get inside. Be prepared for anything." He paused the typing and looked up to make sure they understood.

"Okay." Sophie nodded reaching for her gun. Nate went into the back and brought out a baseball bat and a golf club, and handed the golf club to Sophie. She fastened it to her belt.

"Good luck." Hardison pulled Sophie into a hug.

"Thank you." Caroline said to Nate holding him tight. "For everything." Nate nodded.

Nate and Hardison locked eyes. Hardison gave a subtle nod, returned by Nate. _Good enough. _Nate thought as he turned for Sophie. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek. They had made an agreement months ago that any time they had to face infected, there would be no goodbyes and no deep and romantic goodbye kisses, doing so would just give into defeat. He squeezed her hand and turned for the door.

"Here we go." Nate called as he pulled the door open. Both he and Sophie darted for the front doors. They noticed a few infected perk up and begin to make their way over. Nate smashed his baseball bat into the head of one of the infected businessmen and continued forward. Sophie was right at his heels and they barged inside, not sure what to expect.

They leapt inside, Sophie with her rifle ready, Nate with his bat in the hitter position. It took a moment for them to register that every infected in the lobby was already lying bloodied and dead on the lobby floor.

"Nate, Sophie." Hardison called over their com's. "What's going on? How many are in there? Do you need backup?"

"There's nothing." Sophie answered.

"Nothing?" Caroline repeated, questioning.

"Everything is dead in here." Nate responded glancing behind the receptionist desk. Blood pooled along the floor. Both Sophie and Nate were careful to avoid it.

"Strange." Hardison answered. "I've managed to get the security entrances to disengage, so you are okay to pass through, but I can't get the elevators."

"You've done this a million times." Nate chastised. "Why is it that when killer zombies are on the loose you are having trouble with the elevators?"

"I could leave you there, you know." Hardison responded aggravated.

"Nate, shut it. We will have to take the stairs, we don't have time to wait." Sophie pointed to the sign indicating the stairwell.

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Nate sighed as they walked over to the stairs and pulled open the heavy door.

Every so often an infected scientist or security guard would appear around the corner, but Nate took them out like a pro.

Back in the trailer Hardison continued to incessantly type away, getting more frustrated by the second. Every time he managed to engage the video feed, he would lose access to the motion sensors, every time he would try and unlock a door, he would lose the video feed. It was getting more and more difficult by the second. Hardison was concerned, not only did he not have any eyes in the building, but it seemed like the building was fighting back, trying to infiltrate Big Lucy's system.

"Guys, something's wrong." Hardison voiced. "Guys?" He repeated. "Sophie? Nate?"

"What's going on?" Caroline's voice hitched.

Hardison ignored her and typed a few things. "Sophie?...Nate?" There was no response, just a mild fuzzy signal where their voice should be.

"Shit." He barked, causing Caroline to scoot back in her seat nervously.

The zombies were getting more frequent. Nate's bat was bloodied and cracking at this point.

"Three ahead." Nate heaved. They were at the 19th floor, sweating profusely as they cautiously prepared themselves. Three infected stumbled their way down to Nate. He managed to sideswipe the first two with his bat, but was caught off guard by the third. It lunged for him, eyes yellow, puss oozing down his cheek. Sophie shrieked and swung her golf club in it's direction. As the infected scientist lost its balance she shoved it over the side and down the 19 floors. It banged and thumped all the way down.

"Hardison, any word yet on the video feed? We can't keep risking it. We need eyes in the building." Nate called out, readjusting the earpiece. "Hardison, now is not the time to keep quiet."

"Hardison?" Sophie called. Silence. "Are you kidding me?" Sophie said mirthfully looking over at Nate.

"Hardison." Nate yelled. Still silence. "I guess we will have to do this the hard way."

They made it up to the 24th floor and paused at the doorway. Not only were they going in blind, again, but they had just climbed 24 flights of stairs and had no communication with their counterparts.

"Nate, if something happens to me-" Sophie tried between breaths.

"Stop it." Nate interrupted. "We are fine." And with that he shoved the door open.

Nate and Sophie looked in shock and horror at their surroundings. There were infected scientists and lab assistants and technicians everywhere. Vials of green and blue and red liquid streamed across the floor, glass broken everywhere.

It only took an instant before the infected noticed the door open and shut with a bang. The smell of fresh clean blood pulled them forward as they began to limp and crawl and lunge at Sophie and Nate.

Nate grabbed Sophie's hand hard and pulled her in the only open direction that he could find. They ran as fast as they could, Nate slamming his bat into a zombie and then moving forward. Sophie would stop every so often to shoot a zombie from behind, but it didn't stop the horde from getting closer and closer.

Sophie's heart thumped heavily in her chest. The zombies seemed to get faster, and her aching body seemed to get slower. They were getting closer to the end of the hallway and Nate's attempts at opening doors were futile.

"Nate!" Sophie screeched as a zombie in a bloodied lab coat caught her by the ankle. She crashed to the floor.

"Soph-!" Nate spun around just in time to grab her arm and pull her forward. She managed to kick the zombie behind her and slide up and into a run behind Nate.

They hit the end of the corridor and managed to turn into a side area divided on their side by cubicles and the other side by a floor to ceiling window behind which was a testing lab. Sophie grabbed for the door to the lab but it was locked shut with a keypad entry.

Both Nate and Sophie ran to the back wall which was splattered with red handprints and goo, getting as far back as possible. Zombies were racing toward them at every angle. There was no exit and no hope.

"Hardison!" Nate tried one last time. Nothing.

He pulled out his pistols and started firing. Sophie followed suit. They fired until their ammunition was gone, only managing to take out the first wave.

"Nate." Sophie whispered. He grabbed her and held her tight. The infected raced forward, unrelenting. Now only a few feet away, Nate and Sophie held each other ready to die.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! It might be another week before I can update again, but hopefully this will tide you over until then.

Thanks to my return reviewers (love you guys!) and to my new reviewers (you are awesome!).

As the story goes on, I'll be giving more clues about what Nate did. Let's see if you can figure it out! :)

Please review! Have a great week!

Chapter 3

"This is not good." Hardison fumed.

Caroline was sure that his fingers were bound to fall off with how fast and unrelenting he was with his typing. The more he typed, she noticed, the more worked up he got, until without warning, he stopped short and stood up with wide eyes as he stared at his laptop screen.

"No." He whispered. "It can't be."

Then, causing Caroline to jump, a voice boomed over the speaker system within Big Lucy.

"Hello Hardison." Silence.

"Hello Chaos." Hardison growled.

_Up on the 24__th__ Floor:_

Nate held her tight, embracing the wonderful last feeling he would ever feel. She was shaking and he held her tighter.

It was time. He opened one eye to look at the onslaught as it came.

"BANG!" A deafening shot rang out. Sophie jumped and shot her head around to get a look. They watched in awe as the heads of the five closest infected exploded. Knives came from nowhere decapitating more. Then, from out of nowhere, two strangers appeared like deadly ninjas slashing and hacking. They watched unable to comprehend it. Both wore hoods and bandanas covered their nose and mouth. One used brute force, slamming a gloved fist through a zombie's stomach; the other, agile and quick, flung knives with deadly accuracy. Both covered head to toe in black. The bulkier ninja handled the zombies like they were already dead; flinging them to the wall, kicking their knees out and twisting their necks until they fell limp to the ground.

It took another few minutes before the zombies cleared out. The two ninjas moved towards them; the agile catlike ninja pulling a bow and quiver to the ready, now aiming it directly at Nate's head.

Nate froze; Sophie choked and stared in fear. They had just managed to escape a zombie horde and were now going to be killed by looters!

"Let me kill him." The agile ninja spoke.

"I'm not stopping you." The bulkier one finally said.

The slender ninja pulled the quiver back further ready to fire.

"…but," the bulkier one inserted, "they might be useful."

"We don't need anything from them." The smaller ninja hissed.

"It's your decision." The bulky ninja responded.

There was another pause.

"Wait…" Nate tried, hoping that he might be able to convince these dangerous strangers to spare their lives. "I can help you." He said.

It was obviously the wrong thing to say, and he knew it immediately. The slender ninja pulled the quiver taught against the bow, and then with a whiz, released the quiver. It was like lighting shooting through the air.

Nate saw his life pass before his eyes and Sophie screamed. Nate's heart stopped and he keeled over.

The quiver had landed dead in the wall inches from his ear. Both he and Sophie dropped to the floor from sheer panic and exhaustion. Then they looked up.

The two ninjas moved their way up close, pulled the bandanas from their mouths and pulled their hoods back to give Nate and Sophie a clear view of their saviors.

To the unbelievable surprise of Nate and Sophie, both Parker and Eliot stood like warriors, coldly looking down at them.

_Back in the RV:_

"Hello Hardison."

"Hello Chaos." Hardison growled.

"What are you doing so far from home, Hardison?" Chaos joked, laughing evilly.

"Fuck you." Hardison hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Since I have control of your wifi network and have once again out-hacked you, I'll be asking the questions." He responded.

"Who is he?" Caroline asked.

"A pathetic excuse of a hacker." Hardison answered.

"Right." Chaos laughed. "And that's why I'm in control and Nate and Sophie are dead."

"What!" Caroline cried. "No!"

Hardison was struck still. He was busy fuming over the computers, he didn't even think about what was happening with Sophie and Nate this very moment.

They heard a maniacal laugh reverberate from the sound system.

"I'm just kidding." They could hear the smile in his voice. "But, they might not last long. My team isn't too happy with them."

"Your team? Please, who would want to work with you?" Hardison asked sarcastically remembering back to the last time Chaos worked with a team. He tried to kill Sophie and was arrested for attempting to get a painting out of the country.

There was a pause. They heard a few thumps from zombies running into Big Lucy.

"Why don't I show you?" Chaos answered cunningly.

Within seconds a video feed was uplinked to his laptop. Caroline swiftly moved up next to him.

She was confused. She looked over at Hardison who was now standing stock still.

"What is it?" She asked Hardison, looking at the four people in the feed. Two she recognized as Nate and Sophie, but the other two were a mystery.

"Those, my dear, are the ghosts of Christmas past." Chaos laughed.

Hardison couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. There, beyond any possible hope that he had left stood his two missing team members from years ago. Eliot had his hair pulled back, still barely shoulder length. The other, the woman of his dreams, long blonde hair, pulled back in a pony tail stood strong, mere feet away from Nate with a bow in her hand. He watched her pull the quiver from the wall.

He still stood silent, unable to process. Hardison thought back to the hundreds of hours he spent tracking her whereabouts and scanning the satellites for any sign of her. He had last seen her four years ago and it seemed that she was stronger now, less flimsy, much more stiff and dangerous.

"They don't trust you." Hardison rasped. There was no way that they would team up with Chaos. It wasn't possible.

"You are one to talk." Chaos hummed, obviously relishing the pain that was emanating from Hardison.

Hardison didn't answer.

_Up on the 24__th__ Floor:_

"Parker. Eliot." Nate breathed. Of all the people he expected to run into, these two were not them. He hoped and feared that he might one day see them again.

Parker clenched her fists as she heard him say her name. The blood coursed through her veins hot and ready to erupt. She wanted more than anything to kill him. Kill Nathan Ford.

Without thinking she slid a dagger from its small sheath and darted towards Nate. In less than a second the dagger was at his throat, the metal like death's touch.

"Parker, no!" Sophie tried to pull her away, but Nate quickly stopped Sophie short feeling the dagger dig itself further into his neck.

"Eliot, get her off." Sophie yelled to him, half pleading, and half ordering.

Parker looked over at him.

"Do what you want." He said emotionless.

Parker's eyes were black with hatred. Nate never thought he would see that look of fury directed at him.

"Give me the key code." Parker hissed to Nate.

"Get that dagger away from my throat and then we'll talk." He said, now tired of being at Parker's mercy.

Without hesitation, Parker sent a fist slamming into Nate's jaw. The power of her small fist was something he wasn't ready for, it made him momentarily waver.

Parker pulled back up and stood next to Eliot.

"Where is the code, Sophie?" Eliot urged. Sophie was livid. No matter how bad things had gotten, she would have never thought that Parker and Eliot would hurt them this badly.

"We don't have the damned code." Sophie yelled at them.

"Liar." Parker hissed.

Eliot lifted his hand up to his ear. "I don't think they have it." Nate watched as he communicated with someone through his earbud.

Nate, Sophie, Parker and Eliot all squinted as a high pitched frequency rang through their earbud's.

"Now." A familiar, yet mysterious voice echoed through their headset's. "Let's talk."

Nate could tell that Parker and Eliot were on the same frequency.

"Who is this?" Nate asked ruefully.

"Nate, Sophie, are you guys okay?" Caroline called through her earbud.

"We're fine." Nate answered, rubbing his jaw.

"Give us the code, now." Parker demanded.

"Parker?" Parker was sent silent by his long lost voice. She clenched her jaw, refocused and ignored it.

"Give it to us or I will kill them." She pushed further looking directly at Nate.

Caroline glanced over at Hardison fearfully. Hardison couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You aren't serious." Hardison answered in disbelief.

"Chaos, we don't need them on the line." Eliot inserted.

Nate and Sophie's eyebrows rose finally realizing who it was. Nate was angry, his family was now working with the man that tried to murder Sophie. When he imagined having a reunion with the group, it had been nothing like this.

"Caroline, tell them the code." Nate said calmly. He knew that it was only a matter of time before zombies returned and he wasn't sure whether they could be spared a second time around. They needed that vial.

Caroline was silent. "Uh, are you sure?" She squeaked.

Nate nodded, "go ahead. We don't have a lot of time."

Parker's face stayed a mask.

"9-3-5-4-2-6-4-1-8." She repeated as if it were a song that she was taught not to forget.

Parker glided over to the glass door followed closely by Eliot. She typed the numbers into the keypad. A few beeps emitted from the small black box and they heard a clear click from inside the door.

Parker looked back at Nate and Sophie who slowly pulled each other up from the floor. She watched as Sophie turned his chin lovingly to get a better look at his jaw. She whipped her head around in disgust. _How dare they flaunt themselves in front of us. _Eliot tightened at the momentary signs of affection between Nate and Sophie and briskly walked in behind Parker.

They observed the area. Everything was torn to pieces. A few shards of glass crackled as Eliot stepped over them. Parker used her keen eye to find what they were looking for, but all they found was a man about thirty years old laying lifelessly against a wall.

"Is he dead?" Eliot asked.

Parker leaned in, but pulled back and held up her pistol as he moved his head up slightly.

"Infected." She answered ready to shoot.

"No" the man rasped.

"A self-aware infected?" Eliot asked.

"Not possible." Parker confirmed cocking her gun, ready to shoot.

"No, I have the cure." He said breathing deeply.

"Jimmy? That's my brother!" Caroline called out loudly over the intercom; face glued to the video feed on the laptop.

Nate slowly walked over to Jimmy and stuck an earbud in his left ear.

"Jimmy, can you hear me?" Caroline cried.

His face went wide, "Caroline? Is that you?" His body tensed as he started to tear up. "I thought I would never get to hear your voice again."

Parker rolled her eyes and continued to survey the room.

"Jimmy, I'm downstairs. We are here to save you." Caroline gushed. "Where's dad?"

There was a silence.

"There were only two vials left intact. We saved one for reproduction, and he gave the other to…to me." Jimmy choked. Sophie's heart went out to the two siblings. "He locked himself out so I could survive." Jimmy finally broke down, though his eyes were swollen and some crusty ooze dripped from the corner of his right eye.

Eliot squatted next to him and examined Jimmy.

"This is not a cure." Eliot piped up.

"It is." Jimmy answered after pulling himself together. "It's only one-third of it though."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked. "I thought you had it cured?"

"See" he strained. "The virus attacks the human body in three ways." Jimmy coughed up some blood. Eliot moved back a little. "First, it attacks the blood stream, causing slow deterioration. That's why there is such an infected blood lust. The body needs fresh blood and the infected don't have the brain capacity to inject it, so they adopt cannibalistic tendencies." He paused taking a deep breath. "Second, the virus attacks skin cells, causing deterioration and the graying pigment of the skin." He sat up a little higher trying not to slip into unconscious.

"We can take a break." Nate offered to Jimmy.

"No" he rasped. "I don't have much time and I need to tell you…"

Parker spotted a wall safe and began fiddling in the back unnoticed by the rest of the group.

"Finally, third, the virus attacks the Amygdala. The Fight or Flight center of the brain. This part of the brain controls all basic animalistic urges. It shuts off the logic and creativity centers of the brain and hijacks your basic animalistic thought processes."

"That's why the cure has never been found." Nate concluded, finally understanding. "We've found the three puzzle pieces, but we haven't put them together."

"Exactly." Jimmy coughed.

"So you are infected." Sophie added.

Jimmy nodded. "Dad gave me the cure that we created to restore brain function, but my blood and skin cells are still deteriorating." He paused. "I am in the critical stage, I'm going to die."

They could hear Caroline sobbing through the com.

"I love you Care Bare." Jimmy spoke.

"I love you too." She blubbered. Her older brother, the person who always looked out for her, now dying, and she could do nothing to save him.

"I locked the cure in the safe. The combination is-" Jimmy started, but was cut short by Parker waving the box with the vile inside. She had long since cracked the safe code and stood deviously in front of everyone.

"Got it." She said lightly.

"Good." Jimmy said. "I love you Care Bare." He repeated, whispering to his sister.

With that, the last light that was left in Jimmy was gone. His body went limp and everyone stood silently. The only noise that was heard was Caroline sniffling over the com.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: 

Chapter 4 is finally here. You have been waiting very patiently, so here it is.

Lolli-X, Jackie Pierce, Anonymous and wolfofsheep: As always thank you for your amazing reviews! They keep me motivated.

Blackspots: I'm actually already writing my own story/book, but it's more for fun than anything. If by some miraculous (and I mean miraculous) chance it gets published some day, I'll send you a copy. ;)

whimseyrhodes: you caught me. I got lazy and didn't do my research for the quiver and bow. Parker will be using the bow and arrow (or is it bolt? see, I'm already failing!) in later chapters, but I'm going to make sure I get it right next time. Thanks for the tip!

Meagan: The questions isn't just why would they work with Chaos, but also, is he a good guy in this story or a bad guy? ;)

Mony19: Sometimes there are reviews that really help me build on the relationships in the story. You review gave me some inspiration for later chapters. :D

Also, as a side note, my favorite computer game (and the only one that I can play remotely well) is Left 4 Dead. It's the best zombie killing game ever. If you've noticed I've added a few non-gun weapons into this story that come directly from the game (golf club and baseball bat). Look out for them in future chapters.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4:

"Give it back! It's not yours!" Caroline screeched at Parker.

"Try and take it from me." She said sarcastically rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. _Was this girl for real?_ She watched Hardison hold the girl back. Parker stiffened a little.

With Chaos in control of the elevators and Parker and Eliot incapacitating the remaining infected with ease, leaving the building was like a walk through the park. Afterwards was the hard part.

The sun had set and they had all reluctantly agreed to camp together that night. If it weren't for the fact that they were still too close to the city, Sophie was sure that 'Team Evil' as Caroline liked to call them, would have been gone without a thought. Hardison brought his electric zombie perimeter that he had designed. It created a solar charged electric barrier. When a zombie tried to pass through the barrier, it would immediately fry and fall to the ground. Sophie equated it with an invisible electric dog fence, except instead of shocking a dog, it electrocuted a zombie.

The fire pit that Eliot had made between the two sides of the camp, one with Big Lucy, the other with Chaos's RV and their hummer, acted like a barrier. Small flames whipped into the air, casting a nice glow over Parker, Eliot and Chaos on one side, and Nate, Sophie, Hardison and Caroline on the other.

"We need to work together." Nate said, trying to sound as confident as he could.

"Is he serious?" Parker asked Eliot in disbelief. "Are you serious?" She scowled at Nate.

Nate said nothing.

Eliot stared angrily at him. "How dare you. How dare you even stand there and talk to us. What kind of a bastard do you have to be to do what you did, and then ask for our help?"

Nate looked down, then back up at Eliot.

"This isn't about the past." He said angrily. "This is about a better future."

Sophie was tense. This was really bad. But she was struck speechless. Sophie, with all of her grifting ability, could not handle dealing with this. She stayed quiet and watched.

"My brother died to get that vial to me. You give it back!" Caroline interjected.

There was a pause, momentarily distracting Eliot from wanting to punch Nate.

"No." Parker said simply. "You go back to wherever you came from and cry about your family." She paused trying to drive the stake through this girl's heart. Parker's eyes were ice cold.

"Parker." Hardison inserted with a disappointed tone. This was not the woman he knew. "What's wrong with you?"

Parker finally managed to make eye contact with him for the first time that night. His eyes were more worn but still the way she remembered. Calm and caring. _Don't do this to yourself._ Parker chastised inwardly. _He is just as bad as Nate. They just want to use you, just like last time._

"There's nothing wrong with her. She's perfect." A voice responded before she had the chance to. Chaos stepped up a little further, addressing Hardison with a snide glare.

"You stay out of this. It doesn't concern you." Hardison growled.

"Seeing as we have the vial, I think it does." Chaos smirked.

"Parker?" Hardison almost pleaded. He hated Chaos with a passion and it stung him rather deeply that she would so willingly stand by his side.

That was all Parker could take. Over the past few years, the anger had driven her, but being here, was like reliving the time they had together five years ago. _I can't go back. Stay focused._ Parker shook her head trying inwardly to shake the memories away. She left the bickering and retreated into Chaos's RV.

Nate emitted a frustrated huff. He knew that if Parker didn't want to give the vial up, they would never get it. He immediately regretted the loud sigh that he made, as Eliot swiveled his head over.

"Is this inconvenient for you Nate?" Eliot paused, waiting for an answer. "It's difficult to realize someone you trust" he spit out the last word, "doesn't give a shit about you, isn't it?"

Nate calmed a bit, trying not to blurt out the first frustrated and angry thing that came to his mind.

Nate spoke with purpose. "I know that there have been parts of my past, which I sincerely regret." He watched Eliot's reaction. Eliot was always very good at hiding his feelings, or at least holding them in until he was ready to knock someone out. Chaos sneered. Nate continued. "This has nothing to do with me. It has to do with saving lives; saving innocent lives."

Eliot stood there, brow furrowed. Every inch of him was screaming to attack Nate. The last five years were difficult, especially for Parker. In his heart, he knew there was a small piece of him left from the old days, the days were they helped people, the days where they ate dinner together, conned together. He pined for those days, more than he would like to admit, but the pain and suffering he'd watched, the suffering he'd been through overshadowed that wonderful feeling.

"I don't help the helpless anymore." Eliot concluded, reiterating to Nate, and more importantly, reminding himself. He then disappeared into the shadows of the RV.

Sophie knew they didn't stand a chance. Parker and Eliot were the last hope. There was no way that Chaos would side with them. Not that she would even want to work alongside a man who tried to blow her to pieces. It had been eight or nine years, but she still remembered the adrenaline pumping, horrible feeling that her time there would be her last.

"Colin." Nate tried. The use of his real name tasted like acid on his tongue.

Chaos smirked, internally laughing. "This is great." He jeered. Chaos then opened up the plastic fold-out chair he had behind him, sat by the fire and relaxed as he warmed his hands.

Nate, Sophie and Hardison all knew that was the end of the conversation, but Caroline had a dangerous glint in her eye. They all moved back into Hardison's RV for the night to get some rest leaving Chaos to enjoy the fire in peace.

_In Chaos's RV: _

Parker sat on the plaid couch, stained with cherry soda and rolled the vial between her fingers. She inspected the blue goo that glittered inside.

"Parker?"

She looked up. Eliot walked over and sat next to her on the sofa. She knew he was concerned for her. He always was. The big brother that she never had.

"I'm fine." She coughed.

He watched her intently. "You know what we have to do." He said after a moment.

She jumped up out of her seat and turned on him. "No we don't! We don't owe them anything."

Eliot watched her fume and pace back and forth.

"No, we don't owe them anything." He confirmed, backing her up. "But-"

"Don't say it." She scolded. She couldn't stand the thought of working with them again.

Eliot knew she needed to hear it. "-But we have to do it anyway."

Parker immediately started to tear up. Eliot stood up to comfort her.

"I'm not crying!" She exclaimed harshly. "I'm just…leaking."

"I know." Eliot said calmly as he walked over and pulled his arms around her.

The hug was all it took and Parker began to 'leak' uncontrollably. The betrayal that she had felt five years ago came on like a tidal wave drowning her. She knew Eliot felt the same, he just didn't 'leak' as often. The hardest part about the night was seeing Hardison again. In her heart, she knew he hadn't been infected. He's always managed to weasel his way out of a tight spot one way or another. Five years ago, it had been perfect, and she began to feel what most people called romance. After…what happened…everything imploded on itself and the icy feeling took over. She was alone.

Eliot looked down at the fragile figure that stood before him. He knew Parker and Chaos and himself had all made agreements right from the beginning of their team, that they would never trust one another, just work together temporarily for the monetary benefits. Temporary turned into permanent, and although they would never admit to it, trust slowly seeped its way through.

"We can leave tonight?" Both Eliot and Parker turned to see the screen door open, Chaos climbing up the two steep steps.

"We need sleep." Eliot interjected.

Parker perked. "We could leave though, you know, and never see them again?"

"I like that." Chaos added.

Eliot sighed. He hated always having to be the reasonable and morally responsible member of their team. While working for Moreau all those years ago, he was the opposite. He mused at how his life had taken such a big turn.

Eliot held up his hand. "We'll make a decision in the morning. It'll be the first night that we don't have to have one person awake guarding the perimeter. Let's take advantage of it."

He knew it was a lame reason, but they didn't seem to fight him on it.

"Who's turn is it tonight?" Eliot asked.

"Mine!" Parker answered, far too quickly.

"Ugh. It was just your turn…" Chaos whined.

"Three days ago." Parker answered. "And now it's my turn again."

Chaos gave her arm a shove and relented. Since they started their trek across the United States, they had taken turns having the night alone in the RV. Having privacy was like the holy grail and being able to sleep a full night without fear of a zombie gnawing at your flesh was one of the best prizes you could receive.

"You good?" Eliot asked, giving Parker a hard look.

"Fine." She sighed, feeling a little better, but still not in any mood to do the right thing.

"Okay." He said. Both himself and Chaos grabbed their pillows and made their way out to the hummer where they would share an uncomfortable night tossing and turning in the oversized seats.

_Around 3am: _

The coals glowed in the fire pit and everything was silent. Every once in a while Caroline would hear a zap as a zombie was electrocuted and fell with a thump to the ground. While everyone was sound asleep she couldn't help but lay there, wide awake. Her blood continued to boil, furious with the horrible blonde that insulted her family. Her brother and father had given her a task, to see the cure to the naval base in Washington State, for reproduction, and save the world. Caroline knew that this evil woman would make it difficult. With a determined look, she sat up.

Making her way past a sprawled out Hardison, who make-shifted a bed with the kitchenette chairs while Nate and Sophie slept in the back, she tiptoed outside. She walked past the imaginary barrier dividing their side of the camp, from 'Team Evil's' side.

She tiptoed up to the RV and grasped the door handle. With a quiet click, it opened. She was relieved that it was unlocked as she slowly pulled it open. Caroline hesitated a moment as the door creaked, but ignoring the fear, she lifted herself into the dark mobile unit.

The moonlight from the window shone down providing her just enough light to make out the body silently snoring on the couch. She noticed in the back, where in Big Lucy, a bed lay, was a room full of food, computer equipment, and necessary living items. She figured they probably lived on the road. This was not a trip for them; it was a traveler's way of life.

Remembering her purpose, she began to look around the room for the vial. She froze, heart pumping, as Parker shifted to her side, eyes still closed. She let the breath she was holding out and kept searching.

Hardison, Nate and Sophie, remained still. Hardison slept uncomfortably. This was the first time in a long time that he had to sleep anywhere other than a comfy bed.

"CRRRAASSSH!"

Everyone jumped as a loud noise from Chaos's RV sliced through the night. They heard a scream and Sophie and Nate flew out of the back and exited the home, Hardison right behind them.

They watched Eliot and Chaos emerge from the hummer equally as shocked.

Then, without warning, the door from the RV slammed open, Parker guiding Caroline out, knife at her neck.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: 

Hello again! Thanks for the reviews from last chapter.

Mony 19: Just wanted to let you know, Parker didn't inject herself with the vial, she was just looking at it and inspecting it. It would be very bad if she injected herself with the last vial left for humankind. :)

Anyway, please let me know what you think. If you were hoping for more zombie action, don't worry, it's building up and building up, just be patient. :)

Enjoy! Please review!

Chapter 5:

"Parker!" Nate yelped as he made out Caroline's ashen face in the moonlight.

"Was this your plan, Nate?" She sneered. "To come in and steal the vial when we were asleep?"

"What?" He asked.

"I'm surprised though, that you didn't have the guts to do it yourself." She added. "You had to send a pathetic little girl to go in and do it for you." She paused. "You know, now that I think about it, I'm not surprised at all."

Parker shoved Caroline over to Hardison. He caught her and helped her stand up right. She was shaking.

"It's mine. It's my job to get it back. I will kill you to get it if I have to." She threatened.

Parker gave a sarcastic look, as if saying 'yeah…sure.'

"She just lost her family. How would you feel?" Sophie spoke to her.

Parker winced, secretly understanding and remembering the suffering she went through losing her brother when she was just eight years old.

Sophie knew she struck a chord.

"That's no excuse." Chaos spoke up. "I knew this was a bad idea. We will be gone in the morning." He protectively put his arm on Parker's shoulder.

Hardison's gut reaction was to scream and attack Chaos and beat him within an inch of his life. How dare he touch, Parker, _his_ Parker? What stung worse was the fact that she didn't pull away, or even flinch at his touch. Eliot he could understand, but Chaos? How could she do this to him?

Chaos seemed to notice the internal distress emanating from his enemy hacker because a grin grew on the edges of his lips.

Chaos hated Hardison. Hardison, the man that always got away with everything. Not many knew, but they actually went to high school together. Colin was given the simple life, growing up in a well off family environment where his father expected him to become a doctor and his mother wasted her life away high on pain killers. Alec Hardison was lucky to attend his school on scholarship and they shared the same computer class. Day after day, Alec would come in and somehow learned to do everything faster. Faster at typing, faster at creating a website, faster at accessing the school mainframe. They tried for a while to get along, even managed to hack into the teacher lesson database and delete all of the graded tests for every class in the school together, but it didn't last. Both had a competitive spirit that divided them. Both graduated high school and forged their college certificates through Yale and Harvard. Finally they had gone their separate ways and built their own reputations as expert hackers. They remained apart, and in hacker bliss, until the day when Nate Ford's crew and Marcus Starke's crew collided about nine years ago.

"We can talk about this in the morning." Eliot offered, now frustrated that the first good dream he had had in weeks was interrupted.

Hardison watched Parker, trying to catch her eye. She kept avoiding him.

Hardison then grumbled all the way back to Big Lucy where he ungracefully settled himself back on the kitchenette chairs.

_The next morning:_

Though the sun began to rise in the sky and shine warmth, the campsite was ice cold. Neither team spoke to the other, eating their own breakfast on their own side of the camp.

Sophie ate her breakfast bar and stared at Nate, who sat in thought glancing over to the other camp every so often. He had spent all night tossing and turning. The only other time he'd been in such a distressed sleep was five years ago, the night before the event that tore the team apart.

She glanced over at Hardison who also seemed to have a horrible nights' sleep, though she couldn't tell if that was due to his sleeping arrangements or because of the blonde who was currently eating a can of green beans on the other side of the camp.

She glanced over and watched as Parker, Eliot and Chaos sat in their plastic fold out chairs, leaning in, in deep conversation. No doubt they were making a decision. A decision that could alter the fate of the world. She knew that herself, Caroline, Nate and Hardison could not do this on their own. They wouldn't survive, as proven by yesterday's close call. Sophie's eyes landed on Chaos. His hair was now slightly shaggier, his chin with a nice stubble and his clothes, normally spotless, now somewhat tattered. It still made her skin run cold to even think about working with him. He tried to murder her and that feeling would never go away. She couldn't even understand, despite the pain that they must have gone through, how Parker and Eliot could work with him. He will betray the team, Sophie was sure. She made a promise to herself that no matter what, he wouldn't do to anyone else, what he had done to her.

_Over at the other camp: _

Eliot leaned forward and spoke in hushed tones, well aware that Team Nate was watching them.

"I hate it just as much as you do, Parker." He sighed.

"I don't think you do." Parker said aggravated. "You want to work with them. You want to be a part of their team again. Don't you remember what they did to us? They chose this."

"Yes, I remember." He almost barked at her. "I was there too. I had to go through it too, but this isn't about them. This is about the infection."

Chaos watched. He knew that this decision was more theirs to make. Personally, he hated the idea of working with Nate's team. Finally, he had a family of his own, however dysfunctional it was; he wasn't ready to give it up.

Parker crossed her arms. She was fighting an internal battle. Part of her yearned to have it back the way it was. The other part wanted to abandon them in their time of need, just like they had abandoned her. She especially didn't want to be around the bratty red-head who snuck into the RV last night. It bothered her even more, that when she heard the door click open, her first thought was that Hardison had come to speak with her. Parker chastised herself, it was long over between them, and if he had wanted to find her, he would have.

Eliot hated that he had to be the one to convince Parker and Chaos to join forces with Nate. If it hadn't been for the fact that they had just come from his hometown in north Texas, he would have agreed with Parker and abandoned Nate's team in an instant. Unfortunately, the last time they were down checking on his family and bringing them food, he came to find everyone infected. He had urged his mother, father and sister to come with the crew and travel, but they refused to leave and in so doing, were infected. Eliot knew that Parker wouldn't understand the feeling, and Chaos had long since lost his family. He had to make sure that there would be no more innocent people that would have to go through what he went through, not if he could prevent it.

"We could get the vials ourselves." Chaos offered.

"But we don't know where they are." Parker brought up.

All three sat in silence, knowing that Nate's team knew exactly where the vials were and Hardison had probably already pulled up the schematics for each location.

Eliot scooted up in his chair. "Everyone gets a vote." He said, knowing that Chaos was feeling more out of place. "Yes, if we help them get the vials; no, if we continue as usual, and leave after breakfast."

All three looked over at the other team simultaneously, weighing the pros and cons individually.

Eliot looked at Chaos first.

"I say no." He said resolutely.

"I say yes." Eliot responded.

Both looked at Parker who in return gave each an angry glare. She always had to cast the deciding vote. Even with a new hacker, the brawn and the brains always stood on opposite sides of a decision. _I hate you both. _She thought to herself.

A few minutes later they walked over to the divide point in the camp. Hardison was the first to jump up and walk over, followed by the other three.

"So?" Hardison asked, looking closely at Parker. She stared at the ground.

"We will help." Eliot spoke confidently. Nate and Sophie let out a sigh and Eliot continued. "Temporarily, until you get the three vials. Then it's over, for good."

Nate nodded, grateful. Hardison tried to keep his face nonchalant, but without realizing it, he stood up a little taller and a smile hinted at the edges of his lips.

"So…" Sophie spoke up, trying to ignore the awkward silence.

Chaos looked somewhat put out, but spoke up. "Where are we heading next? We need to get on the road before noon."

"Houston." Caroline spoke up. She hated the idea of working with them, especially after the embarrassing scene from last night, but she knew that this would be their best shot at fulfilling her late brother and father's wishes.

Parker quickly shot a look over to Eliot whose face contorted into momentary pain, then back to normal within an instant.

"What's wrong?" Sophie asked, concerned.

"Eliot's fam-" Parker started but was interrupted.

"It's nothing." Eliot said in a gruff voice.

The next hour consisted of Nate and Eliot bickering about the best route to take. Nate would point out the direct path and Eliot would respond saying that there are too many cars blocking that stretch of road, or there are no resupply locations along this stretch.

Chaos went about refilling their RV and hummer with gas they stored making sure it was enough to get them to their resupply location.

Hardison and Caroline helped prep Big Lucy for the long trip while Parker checked and re-checked the guns and ammunition, like she did every morning.

"I think we are ready." Sophie said to Parker who was loading a shot-gun into the storage area of the RV.

"Good." Parker mumbled.

"Do…Do you mind if I ride with you guys?" Sophie asked. She had never been this nervous in her life. Words were usually her gift, but they seemed to fail her at this moment.

Parker looked up at her, suspicious.

Sophie hurried on. "Eliot says there is a Wal-Mart about four hours away with minimal losses. He says that's where we should re-supply before going into Houston."

Parker nodded in agreement as she closed the storage unit under the RV.

"Eliot's driving the hummer this time. You can ride with him." Parker responded, pulling herself into the RV and leaving Sophie standing at the doorway unsure of how that went.

_Two hours later: _

"What do you think they are talking about?" Parker asked looking up ahead at the hummer.

The caravan had been on the road for a few hours. The hummer up front with Eliot and Sophie; Parker and Chaos following in Chaos's red RV followed by the last three in Big Lucy, holding up the rear.

"I don't know." Chaos answered. "We could listen in." He glanced sideways at Parker and made a devious face.

"No." She said, though he could tell by her voice that she was curious.

"So…yes, then." Chaos smirked and punched a few buttons on the dashboard.

A static noise issued from the speakers, then a high pitched frequency, and then it leveled itself out.

"I disengaged the microphone so they won't be able to hear us." Chaos said. It unnerved Parker to learn that Chaos could listen in on conversations in the hummer without her realizing it, especially if she had spoken to Eliot privately. Not that they said much. Both refused to discuss their time together on Nate's team, so it was like starting an entirely new friendship.

There was a long silence as they tried to listen in.

"Is it working?" Parker asked, not hearing anything.

"It's working alright, they just aren't speaking."

_In the hummer:_

Eliot tried to stay focused on the road, but it was difficult with Sophie sitting there staring at him.

They remained in silence for the last hour and he was sure that she was just trying to build up the courage to say something. He laughed inwardly at the thought of Sophie having trouble to speak, though he wasn't going to initiate. She's the one that wanted to ride in the hummer, she will be the one to try and rebuild the pieces of their broken relationship.

"So…" Sophie coughed out. "We are heading to Wal-Mart?" It was the only think she could think of.

"Yep." Eliot answered.

Sophie nodded trying to think of the next thing to say. She knew he was leaving her hanging on purpose, but wasn't discouraged. Between Parker and Eliot, Eliot was definitely the easier bridge to build.

"Where did you get the hummer?" She tried again.

"Parker heisted it." He smiled. She was obviously trying really hard.

"That doesn't surprise me." She mused opening the glove compartment and looking through the contents to keep her hands busy.

"Yeah." Eliot forced. "I've never seen someone heist a vehicle as complicated or as quickly as she does." He paused, then decided to throw her a bone. "When it was just the two of us, she even managed to steal a military helicopter."

"Parker knows how to fly helicopters?" Sophie asked shocked.

"That's the thing." He laughed. "She has no idea."

Sophie laughed.

"I thought I was going to die." He said. "But somehow, I don't know how, she managed to get it upright."

Sophie chuckled. _Just like Parker._

"So. That was before Chaos?" She hated herself for it, but she just had to ask. The muscles in Eliot's face dropped into a frown.

"And it begins." He sighed.

"I'm sorry, but it's difficult to see you two working with the man that tried to kill me." Sophie wasn't going to apologize for her feelings, but the words were slipping out unceremoniously and she had trouble easing her way into the conversation. "How can you trust him?"

"Trust is an interesting choice of words." He responded.

"He tried to kill me!" She blurted out. "He tried to get the team arrested."

Eliot's shoulder's tightened, fists clenched white against the steering wheel.

_In the red RV: _

Parker sat frozen, ready to murder Sophie. How dare she trap Eliot in a car and grill him about Chaos. She looked over at her partner who was tight chested driving the RV.

He sat silently.

They continued to listen.

_In the hummer:_

Sophie knew she had made a mistake as they sat silently. Then Eliot spoke, with such malice in his voice, that she pulled back a little in her seat.

"Arrested?" He locked eyes with her for a moment. "Arrested?" Sophie unconsciously leaned closer to the passenger side door, her only means of escape. "I would have chosen that in an instant to what Nate did."

"I'm sorry." Sophie whispered.

Eliot said nothing, but thought back to the months following Nate's betrayal.

_5 Years Ago:_

_He could feel the blood trickle down his neck from his left ear. Everything was standing on end. Nausea clenched his stomach. _

_Eliot would have laughed or made a crude remark, but all of his energy was focused on staying conscious. The room was black and he sat in the center with a single luminescent light that hung down from the ceiling right above his head. The shadows presented a puddle of blood by his feet. _

_The first day Eliot's body screamed to give in, the starvation gnawed at his insides, but eventually everything went numb. Between the searing pain and numbness, the man in black asked unending questions, but Eliot remained firm in his answer. _

"_I didn't do it. I'm innocent." Eliot rasped, spitting blood from his mouth._

"_Hmm." The man rubbed his chin. "Eliot Spencer, innocent? Very interesting."_

_Eliot gritted his teeth. _

"_Now, Mr. Spencer, I'm looking at your file here and I need to make sure that we get to the bottom of this." The man in black forced Eliot's chin up with his forefinger driving Eliot to look directly into his eyes. _

"_Are you telling me you are not the Eliot Spencer who killed countless lives under the order of Damien Moreau?" _

_Eliot stayed silent._

"_Or are you not the man who contracted out the 'retrieval' of multiple black market antiquities?"_

_Eliot looked down, shaking with rage. He knew where this was going._

"_Or…" He waited. "Did you not take part in a vigilante effort to infiltrate and participate in the defrauding of multiple businesses in corporate America with your accomplice?"_

_Eliot winced. His accomplice. He thought about Parker and what was happening to her at this moment. _

"_Are you telling me, that Eliot Spencer is innocent?" He paused and moved his face right next to Eliot's ear. "Are you telling me that that Eliot Spencer isn't a traitor?"_

"_I'm not a traitor." Eliot hissed. "I didn't do what you said I did, I was set up."_

_The man in black nodded in thought. "Oh. And who would set-up one of the most dangerous retrieval specialists in the nation?"_

"_Na-" Eliot stopped and dropped his head. It wasn't worth it. Both men knew that Nate was the one and it wouldn't make one bit of difference. Eliot chose to stay silent. _

"_So." The man in black said, standing upright and making a decision. "I think we need to make this more real for you."_

_Eliot looked up. He couldn't take much more. They had his hands barred to the chair, his body pasted with patches attached to electrical wire. _

"_I say level five is in order." The man said. Eliot winced. The level three electrical charge that surged through his body ripped into his flesh and left him unconscious for what must have been hours. A level five would surely kill him. _

_The man in black sauntered over to the control panel against the wall. He glanced back one time with what appeared from the shadows to be a devilish look then reached for the handle. _

_Eliot watched as the man's arm tightened, and then, without warning the man in black's eyes widened as he crumpled to the floor in a wave of spasms. Eliot couldn't tell if this was a dream. Had the man in black been electrocuted or were the synapses in his brain exploding causing him to see things?_

_Then from the corner of the room a figure dropped from the ceiling. It was what looked like a slender black cat with blonde hair. She took two quick steps toward him and stared at his face then evaluated his wounds. _

"_Eliot. Can you hear me?" Parker's voice was a whisper and he was sure this was a dream. "We've got to get out of here."_

"_Huh?" He mumbled. _

"_Eliot. Come on!" She pulled something from a compartment around her waist and somehow unclamped his wrists from the metal chair. She then proceeded to unceremoniously lift him up. "I need you to help me here." She complained as he leaned all of his weight onto her tiny frame. _

_They hobbled themselves over to the air duct where she had dropped in from. She reached up, and nimbly pulled herself into the air shaft. She then popped her head out, glad to see that Eliot was standing on his own and reached for his arms. _

"_Eliot!" She quietly screeched. "Get a grip! Pull yourself up. We don't have much time." Just as she said this the alarms alerted. _

Eliot found that everything after that was a blur, but that had somehow escaped and he had somehow survived it.

He glanced over at Sophie who sat blissfully unaware. Eliot was glad she didn't know. The more she knew, the worse she would feel. Besides, it was because of her that both Parker and Eliot had almost lost everything.

"It's good to see you, Eliot." She said sincerely, looking out the window.

Eliot paused. "It's good to see you too, Soph."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note:

I don't have much to say this time other than thank you for the reviews!

Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

Eliot grabbed the CV radio connected to both RV's.

"We are taking the next exit. Wal-Mart should be on the right. Parker, load the guns." Eliot ordered.

"Sure thing." Parker answered.

"Roger." Hardison called through the radio.

After another fifteen minutes they arrived. The huge expanse was surrounded by a grey parking lot where a variety of zombies lay baking in the sun. The stench was horrendous, but nothing that the team hadn't smelled before. They parked themselves at the back edge of the lot to regroup and organize the search for supplies.

_After everyone gathered in Chaos's RV: _

"How is there anything left? Wouldn't this be the first place that looters would target?" Nate asked, feeling that his plan to go to a local general store was a better decision.

"Normally, yes, but we've managed to map out typical travel routes and looter routes based on our travels. Even though we might be surprised, based on Chaos's calculations, this location has less drive traffic and should have the stuff we need." Eliot answered.

Nate nodded disbelieving.

"Besides, we are in backwater America, they will have guns and ammunition inside." Eliot added.

"Okay." Sophie answered, leaning against a wall. "So, are we all going in?"

"No." Parker said whipping out a sheet of paper from her pocket. "I'll go in for us. All we need are a few things right now."

"I'll go too!" Hardison responded far too quickly. Nate gave him a suspicious look. "I know what we need." He said trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

"I think I should go with you, too." Chaos added. Hardison gave him a hard look.

Parker rolled her eyes and so did the rest of the group.

About fifteen minutes later, after Parker put on a few more layers to shield her skin from possible zombie swipes and after they loaded the hummer with a few guns, they were ready to enter.

Chaos and Hardison managed to shove one another both vying for the passenger seat, but Chaos took the spot.

The three drove up to the entrance in silence. Parker looked over her list one more time and then looked at Chaos and back at Hardison. She felt her cheeks grow warm, she could reach out and touch him at this distance. She knew he was thinking the same thing. _Stop it Parker. Focus! _They parked the hummer right at the doorway.

"Let's go." She said resolutely as she got out, quickly attaching her katana to the back part of her jacket, then readying her gun. Both Hardison and Chaos did the same.

As they exited the car, zombies of all shapes and sizes perked up. They almost looked like grotesque cats, popping their heads up in curiosity. They knew the noise only caught their attention, but soon the lust for their blood would make the infected attack. They had to get in and out as quickly as possible.

"What do you need?" Hardison asked as they cautiously walked through the entrance.

She stayed silent for a second, not because she didn't want to answer, but because this was the first one-on-one discussion that they had since the run-in at the skyscraper. It felt like a log was lodged in her throat, not allowing her to speak or even breathe.

"We need HDMI cable, canned food, fire starter liquid, bullets and vitamins." She finally got out.

"Interesting." Hardison quieted down. "It seems that we need the exact same things."

She knew he was just trying to get her alone, but it wasn't going to work. They had zombies to avoid and things always seemed to get fuzzy and confusing when he was near her.

"Well" she answered spotting the Wal-Mart greeter who normally stood by the doors handing children stickers and welcoming people into the store as he started moaning and hobbling over. "You two get the HDMI cable, canned food and fire starter liquid and I'll run over and grab the bullets and vitamins."

"But-" he complained.

The Wal-Mart Greeters blue vest now had a sticky film covering parts of it. Parker swiftly pulled her katana and sliced his head off with one quick motion. She then looked over at Hardison as it flopped onto the floor.

Hardison gulped, envisioning himself standing there walking towards Parker as she whipped out her katana and slashed his own head off. He quickly relented without another word.

Parker took off down the middle lane and jutted down a separate aisle out of sight.

Both Hardison and Chaos started walking.

"How the hell did I get stuck here with you?" Chaos sighed.

"You are the one that wanted to come along." Hardison countered as they cautiously turned down the office supply aisle. Just as they turned, a teenaged zombie growled at them. Chaos had his crowbar in hand and forcefully walked up and clipped the teenager in the face.

"Yeah" Chaos said turning around, blood now spattered on his jacket, "that's because I didn't want Parker alone with you. All you have done is make her angry. She doesn't want to be around you. Can't you see that?"

Hardison's eyes narrowed as they made it to the HDMI cable. Chaos pulled the last one hanging on the wall and looped it around his arm, while Hardison picked one up off the floor. They continued walking without a word.

Hardison hated to admit it, but Chaos's words really stabbed at his heart. Did she really just want to keep as far away from him as possible?

They arrived at the canned food aisle and there guarding the only intact cans was a decaying old lady.

"I killed the last one. She is yours." Chaos relented, shoving Hardison up ahead with his frying pan.

"No way." Hardison fought back. "She looks too much like my Nana." He tried to shove Chaos in front of him.

"Quit wimping out, look at her, she was probably already about to croak before she was infected. Just put her out of her misery." Chaos grabbed Hardison's shirt and pulled him ahead.

All the while they were fumbling and shoving and edging closer and closer to the infected old lady. If she had any ability to drag herself forward, she would have taken a bite out of both of them then and there.

"Get off!" Hardison shrieked as Chaos grabbed for the frying pan.

"Just do it!" Chaos fought trying to lead Hardison.

"No!"

"Yes!"

WOMP. With both realizing that the old lady was mere inches away, they thrust the frying pan in her direction and she crumpled to the floor.

"Well." Chaos sounded surprised.

"That settles it." Hardison answered.

They quickly loaded the cans of green beans, corn, black beans, and a few others into a fabric bag pulled from Chaos's pocket. Chaos avoided taking the rest, knowing that it was important to have a resupply for later just in case they had to come back and left about a dozen cans on the shelf. Quickly sidestepping the old woman, broken jars of pickles on the floor and a variety of other liquids that Hardison didn't want to identify, they made their way to the fire starter liquid.

"So. Hardison. How serious were you and Parker anyway?" Chaos asked. "She won't talk about it."

"None of your damned business." Hardison growled reaching for a fire starter liquid container higher on the shelf.

"Well. I only ask as a means of comparison." Chaos added airily reaching for a container.

Just as Chaos had a solid grip, Hardison sideswiped the fire starter container out of his hand. It flung itself to the floor with a thud and began leaking liquid onto the already stained floor.

"What do you mean comparison?" His voice was a hiss.

It caught Chaos off guard more than he cared to admit. They always hated each other, but the way just spoke was something completely different. He tried to hide the nervousness as he said it.

"You know." Chaos joked. "I guess she decided to trade hackers."

It was a complete lie of course. In the beginning, every time he would try to make a move on her, she would send him flying with a move that Eliot had taught her. Eventually he gave up and enlisted her as more of a sister, but he wasn't about to tell Hardison that.

He wasn't even given a chance to defend himself. Hardison turned slightly, then with all the force in his arm, he slammed a fist into Chaos's cheek. Chaos fumbled against the side of the shelf, tipping it slightly and shaking more items off the shelves. Once he leveled himself he could see Hardison panting, hard.

With that, Chaos charged back, slamming Hardison against the shelving. Hardison caught his breath, not giving Chaos the satisfaction of causing him pain.

Chaos was about to add another snide comment but Hardison recovered and flung heavy items off the shelf and slammed them into Chaos who bounded back a few steps.

"You are a liar." Was all Hardison could come up with.

"Well, we have two vehicles for a reason, if you know what I mean." Chaos egged on.

That was all Hardison could take. It was like a dragon coming to life inside of him, ready to kill. Seeing black, he slowly reached for his pistol and lifting it up aimed directly at Chaos.

"Please, Hardison. You couldn't kill me. You are too much of a goodie goodie for that." Chaos joked, though his voice rose.

Hardison cocked the gun.

Chaos made a sarcastic face, and that's all it took for Hardison.

The shot rang out, like a thunderous roar.

Hardison realized what he was doing a moment too late. Luckily, Parker had shoved his pistol angle past Chaos's face and to the floor behind him. However lucky Chaos was, that's how unlucky all three of them were now.

The gunshot ignited the lighter fluid on the floor along with a variety of other flammable liquids, causing the aisle to go up in flames instantaneously.

"What the hell are you thinking!" Parker coughed as all three pulled back away from the flames.

"Parker look out!" Hardison roared as a zombie hurdled at them from behind. He quickly shoved her out of the way as the zombie now flew at him. He had just enough time to duck down and fling the zombie over his back and into the fire.

The zombie crackled and more smoke billowed out.

"Look what you did, you idiot!" Chaos yelled as he held an unconscious Parker up under her armpits by the front of his arms. Hardison could tell that Chaos's hands had been badly burned in the uproar of the fire.

Hardison quickly took an unmoving Parker from Chaos.

"Go get help! I'll get her out." He yelled at Chaos who quickly loaded his arms with all their items. Hardison dragged her around to the next aisle, but the fire was growing too quickly. He could hear Chaos call out over the earbud to the RV as he ran out of site, luckily making it to the doorway.

Hardison began to panic. The first time they were alone together, and it was because he tried to kill Chaos, knocked her unconscious and started burning Wal-Mart to the ground with them inside, no less. _Perfect._

He dragged her along the back wall, beginning to cough and wheeze. He knew, the longer they were in there, the more likely it would be that they would die there.

A burning zombie was now chasing after them from behind, ready to envelop them in the flames. He managed to shove her to the ground away from the flaming zombie as it caught up. Hardison landed on his knees coughing, trying to maintain himself as a barrier.

"Help." He coughed as his mind went dizzy. The zombie dropped to the floor a few feet away as his vision blurred. His lungs burned and he wasn't sure how long he could hang on. Finally, taking one last look at Parker, he fell to the floor unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

Hello again. Thanks for the continuing reviews.

I love how everyone has such a hatred for Chaos. In my mind he's just jealous and pathetic, always trying desperately to outshine Hardison. I've been trying to drop hints both ways, but he will eventually either fall on the side of good or evil in the end. :D

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! Love you guys!

Chapter 7:

Eliot and Nate both looked at each other when they heard the shot go off through the earbud.

At first they ignored the snide banter that bounced back and forth between Hardison and Chaos because it's what they always did. Even after a five year hiatus, they still managed to fight about something.

The sound of the gun going past Chaos's ear rang loud in each earbud.

"What the hell are you thinking!" They heard Parker cough.

"Parker look out!" They heard Hardison yell.

Without warning both Eliot and Nate bolted upright and grabbed the closest weapon they could find as they stormed out of the RV. Since their RV's were parked at the far end of the lot they raced towards the front entrance where smoke started to escape through the broken window panes.

They hacked and stabbed and shoved their way through deteriorating zombies. It seemed like the more they tried to move ahead, the more zombies would pop up. Eliot grunted as he decapitated a surprisingly fast zombie.

About halfway there, they watched as Chaos fell out of the doorway in a fit of coughs. They could see the orange flames licking the ceilings through the entrance. Nate managed to pull Chaos to his feet as Eliot kicked the legs out of the last zombie standing within a hundred yards of them.

"They're against the back wall." Chaos panted, trying to gulp the fresh air in.

"Get to the RV." Nate ordered. Chaos didn't waste any time.

Both Nate and Eliot shoved a piece of their clothing above their nose and mouth to filter the air, as best they could, and ran into the steaming building.

The ceiling tiles began to drop and certain areas of the super center were ablaze. Eliot knew people had a higher risk of dying due to smoke inhalation as opposed to the actual fire, so they needed to find their friends fast.

Nate motioned Eliot to follow. He reluctantly took the order and ran behind him around the beauty aisle to the back.

There on the floor he saw an unconscious Parker.

To Eliot's surprise, Nate zoomed up to Parker and crouched by her side. Eliot darted to Hardison who lay not five feet away also unconscious on the floor.

"Parker." Nate yelled. He gave her a few hard shakes. Her eyes fluttered open as he yelled for her again.

"Nate?" She coughed. Without a response, he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up. She was drowsy so he had to carry her most of the way.

"Get awa-" She tried but it only resulted in a fit of coughs. "Hardison!" She managed to get out. Nate ignored her as they quickly made their way to the front of the store and out of the building. He shoved her in the passenger seat of the hummer as Eliot emerged dragging an unconscious Hardison.

The smoke billowed out of the building and out above them into the sky like a storm draining the light.

Nate quickly darted up to help him.

"Damn he's heavy." Eliot cursed as they both used all their force to pull him into the backseat of the hummer.

"Is he breathing?" Nate hollered as they zoomed the hummer back over to the RV 's.

"Barely." Eliot responded, placing his index and middle finger together on Hardison's neck to gauge the strength of his pulse.

"Good."

About an hour later, the team had parked and set up camp for the night. Even though it was only mid afternoon, they felt that the team needed to regroup.

Hardison slept soundly in the bed in the back of his RV while the others settled outside for a conference.

"What the hell happened in there?" Nate chastised.

"Hardison tried to shoot me, _that's_ what happened." Chaos growled back.

"Right, because you didn't deserve it?" Sophie glared back at him, crossing her arms and squaring her shoulders.

"Stop it." Caroline whined. She was getting a headache from all of this fighting. It never seemed to end.

Her demand went on deaf ears as the bickering continued.

"See, this is what happens when we try to do something for you." Eliot grunted. "We almost die."

"Oh, right, because this was my fault." Nate scoffed, sending a hard look at Eliot for his unruly remark.

"If the shoe fits." Eliot snidely remarked.

Parker stood silently in the backdrop of the group. The smoke had taken it out of her and she knew that talking would only worsen the scratchy throat and difficulty breathing; not that that was the real reason she was taking a backseat to this argument. It gnawed at her that Nate had to be the one to save her. _I don't owe him anything. This doesn't make us even._ She repeated in her mind.

Nate paused gawking at Eliot. "You weren't the only one that ran in the building, you know."

Eliot rolled his eyes. "Don't even pretend to act like the hero."

"You are no hero." Parker hissed in the back. Nate pretended he didn't hear her remark, but it pained him none the less.

"Eliot, he cares, no matter what you think." Sophie urged.

"Right." Eliot said sarcastically.

"Well, how about someone cares for me for a minute here." Chaos complained holding up his burned hands.

"No one cares for you, you lousy git." Sophie volleyed back. "At least they are only burn wounds."

"What?" Chaos returned. "Compared to a…bomb?"

That was all it took before Sophie launched herself at him ready to claw his eyes out. If only Hardison had finished the job, she thought to herself.

Nate caught her, holding her back while Chaos egged her on, Eliot complained and Parker watched.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Caroline's voice exploded like a high pitched screeching bird.

"I am so sick of all this fighting. Get over yourselves. You still have each other to fight with. You still have a family." She barked at them.

Eliot went to say something, but she shut him up with an angry look.

"I lost my family not twenty four hours ago, and all you have to bicker about is who did what five years ago." She gave a derisive laugh. "You are all pathetic."

She took a calming breath. Everyone stared at her, half surprised by the outburst and relieved that someone had stopped the bickering.

"Here's what's going to happen." She said calming herself down.

"Chaos, you are coming with me and we are going to take care of those wounds. Parker, you are going to go and get some rest." Parker rolled her eyes, but didn't put up a fight. "Sophie, you are going to watch Hardison." She then turned her head to the last two. "Eliot and Nate, you will guard the perimeter tonight." Caroline felt more alive in that moment than any other previous time in her life. The ability to tell this group of fiercely independent people what they were going to do built an energetic strength inside of her that she never knew she had.

"Why can't we use the electric zombie fence thing that Hardison brought?" Eliot asked, not wanting to spend any more time with Nate than he had to.

"Because for every full night of use, it takes two days to fully recharge." Caroline said confidently, recounting the primary facts that Hardison had explained in the hour long lecture she had endured about the technicalities and specifics of his favorite invention.

Parker walked away without another word. Her mind was whirling. It nagged at her that she wasn't the one to watch over Hardison, but then, they weren't together anymore anyway.

Chaos sat in a plastic chair he'd pulled out from the trunk of the hummer. He kept his arms rested against the armrests, burned palms face up. He couldn't describe in words how the searing pain shot through him as the fire scorched his hands. It hurt more than anything to even bend his fingers.

Caroline pulled up a second chair, lightly leaning a bag of supplies up against the side.

"So. Let me see your hands." Caroline ordered.

"Do you even know what you are doing?" Chaos eyed her suspiciously.

She gave him an annoyed look and pursed her lips. "Yes."

She grabbed his left wrist and pulled it closer to her. She peered at the burn, flipping his hand over to make sure the redness hadn't spread further.

"Ow!" Chaos yelped. "What the hell?"

"Ugh." Caroline sighed. "Calm down. They are only first degree burns."

"Like you would know." Chaos retorted, trying to nurse his delicate hands, unsuccessfully.

Caroline quickly stood up and glared at him. "Fine, let someone else take care of you." She pushed her chair back and made to walk away.

"Wait." Chaos answered, chewing on his bottom lip. He gave a big sigh. "Stay…please."

He was in no mood to fraternize with the 'other team' especially with her loyalty to Nate and Sophie, but she was right, he didn't see anyone else waiting in line to help him. A pang of regret and resentment filled his heart.

She paused, as if weighing her options, then opted to sit back down. She leaned over and pulled out two tattered, but clean wash cloths from the bag. He watched her sitting patiently. She then pulled out a water bottle, perspiration dripping down the side. Chaos figured that it must have been their drinking water from in the cooler. He followed her gaze as she poured the cold water over the wash cloths, reaching to keep the water from splashing on them.

"Hands." She ordered.

He quickly reached out, burned palms facing up. Then, ever so gently, she placed the damp wash cloths over his hands. It was a feeling that literally had Chaos closing his eyes in relief.

"This should reduce the swelling." She inserted.

"How do you know what to do?" He asked. Trying to be polite.

"Read it in a book." She answered.

After another round of placing cold water on the wash cloths and letting them sit, she finally took them off, rummaged through the supply bag and pulled out a roll of gauze and medical tape.

Both remained silent and the process was fairly painless, except for a few pained faced and a steep intake of breath. After his hands officially mimicked the hands of a mummy, she stood up, packed her bags, gave him a kind smile and walked away.

"Thanks." He called out_. Enemy. Remember, she's the enemy! Enemy, enemy, enemy!_

She walked away, ignoring him and he watched her red curls bounce into the RV.

The afternoon wore on, Hardison waking up a few times in a fit of coughs either asking for water or frantically searching for Parker. Normally, Sophie would have invited Parker in to care for him, but it gnawed at Sophie's insides the way Parker had changed, the way Parker had tried to kill Nate up in the building, with no remorse and no regret.

Both Nate and Eliot spent the afternoon napping, knowing that they would have to spend the night next to one another guarding the area. Each team ate dinner on their own side, with their own team, though every once in a while there would be attempted sideways glances that would pass back and forth.

Hardison even caught Parker staring at him at one point, but when they made eye contact, she whipped her head back around and continued listening to Eliot heatedly whisper in hushed tones.

As the night broke, and the moon sent a glow down from the sky, both Eliot and Nate begrudgingly sat their chairs down next to one another.

Nate rubbed his hands together, not sure what to say, if he should say anything at all. He glanced over at the shot-gun that Eliot had placed on the ground next to his chair, somewhat worried that it might 'accidentally' go off in his direction.

An hour went by and neither said a word to the other. Eliot hadn't even turned in his direction, he continued to stare out into the open wilderness, every once in a while perking up at a far away sound.

The rest of the camp had retreated into their own hiding places for the night.

Nate, knowing that it was time to starting building bridges again, cleared his throat awkwardly, as if to say something.

Eliot ignored him.

"Eliot." Nate finally spoke.

Eliot ignored him, though Nate noticed that his arms momentarily tightened.

"I want to apologize." He said. It was excruciatingly difficult for him to get out, but he had to do it.

Eliot remained silent for a few minutes and Nate was almost ready to give up.

"For what?" Eliot asked quietly and carefully.

Nate took a moment. His heart leapt with hope, with those words.

"For your family. I know that they recently…" Nate trailed off.

Eliot whipped his head around surprised that Nate kept up with his family. Back in the day, when Nate was tracking him for an antiquities theft, he had visited Eliot's family in hopes of gaining any leads. Luckily, the town and his family was so small and tight knit, that Nate could never get any information, not that it stopped his mother from inviting Nate back for some homemade pumpkin pie when he was in the area. Eliot knew that they kept in touch, but didn't realize that after the team split, he still followed up.

Eliot thought for a moment, unsure of whether the conversation was a trap.

"I tried to get them to come with us, but, you know how they are." Eliot rasped. It was very difficult to talk about, and the wounds were still fresh.

"I know." Nate answered.

Another long silence ensued.

"I, umm, also wanted to apologize for lying to you." Nate coughed this out as well. Unsure if this was the right moment, but felt it was better than nothing.

Eliot crossed his arms, lips tight, brows furrowed.

"Just for lying?" Eliot asked, far too calmly.

Nate didn't answer.

_5 years ago:_

_They sat together at the bar at John McCrory's. Nate was on his fifth shot since Eliot had arrived, the bartender afraid to say no. _

"_Nate, I don't know about this." _

_Nate looked over at him, with bloodshot eyes and a determined glare. _

"_We'll get her back Nate, it's just, we've never done something like this before. Are you sure there isn't another way?"_

_Nate threw back another shot and slammed the shot glass on the table. _

"_I've led this team through everything, and now you question my judgment?" Nate spat out._

"_No, I'm just saying…"_

"_NO! Are you willing to risk Sophie's life because you are afraid?" _

"_Nate, I know this is difficult, I just want to make sure we are all on the same page, making the right decisions."_

"_Well, Eliot Spencer, if you can't trust me by now, you should probably just leave."_

"_You know that I won't do that, man. We are family. We'll get her back." _

"_I know we will." Nate said quietly. Those last words hung in the air. _

"_Okay." Eliot responded, slapping the table as a wordless goodnight to Nate. "See you in the morning."_

_Nate nodded and watched Eliot leave the bar. _

_Nate took another shot of whiskey, shoved the shot glasses to the side, some crashing to the floor, and reached over the bar top and reached for the phone hiding underneath the bar. _

_He punched in a few numbers and sat patiently. _

"_Ford?"_

"_Yeah, it's me." He responded. _

"_So?" The voice on the other end questioned._

"_It's set."_

_The line went dead._


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

This chapter actually ended up quite long and I didn't want to cut it into two separate chapters, so I decided to post the whole thing.

If you've been asking questions about Parker and Hardison, this chapter will help move things along. More information will follow. :)

Blackspots: Don't worry, zombie horde's are on their way, along with a whole lot of other challenges and dangers. :D Be prepared!

Thank you for the reviews everyone! If you haven't reviewed the story yet, I would love to hear what you think so far!

Chapter 8:

The next morning felt fresh and new for everyone except Hardison. He had woken up at around 4 in the morning and noticed Nate and Eliot deep in conversation outside. He had trouble identifying whether it was a good conversation or bad conversation. The lack of fighting and the fact that Nate was still alive was a good sign. He also noticed a dead zombie lying haphazardly on the ground about fifteen feet away from them.

Hardison sat in the kitchen silently logging onto his computer. He managed to tiptoe quietly as not to disturb Sophie and Caroline who both awkwardly slept side by side on the couch. He quickly downed an entire bottle of water and pulled up the remote satellite feed. He subconsciously began typing in locations, then stopped, fingers frozen on the keyboard.

He didn't need to look for Parker. She was twenty-feet away in another RV.

Then everything flew back through his memory like a wave.

"_So. Hardison. How serious were you and Parker anyway?" Chaos asked. "She won't talk about it."_

"_None of your damned business." Hardison growled reaching for a fire starter liquid container higher on the shelf. _

"_Well. I only ask as a means of comparison." Chaos added airily reaching for a container. _

_Just as Chaos had a solid grip, Hardison sideswiped the fire starter container out of his hand. It flung itself to the floor with a thud and began leaking liquid onto the already stained floor. _

"_What do you mean comparison?" His voice was a hiss._

"_You know." Chaos joked. "I guess she decided to trade hackers." _

Trade Hackers. Hardison wanted to explode. Of all the things that she could do to hurt him, this was the worst.

Hardison paced back and forth, then abruptly sat back down at his laptop, plugged his headphones in, and blasted music, attempting to drown out his misery. Now more than ever, Hardison wished he was back in his cave alone.

Five hours later, everyone was up and moving around. Caroline and Sophie both rubbed their eyes and sent dirty looks Hardison's way. Ever since he began blasting his music, they couldn't go back to sleep.

"So, what's the plan?" Sophie asked irritated.

"Today we drive." Nate responded. He knew because of their early stop yesterday that they would need to make up time today. Twelve hours to be exact.

"And in the mean time, we need to work up a plan of attack for acquiring the second vial." Nate added.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Chaos asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, seeing as your hands are fried, and I need a nap, it looks like Parker and Hardison need to plan it out." Eliot responded.

Both Parker and Hardison's eyes went wide. Parker stared at Eliot as if he had grown a second head. Since when did Eliot agree with Nate? This was getting bad. It seemed that the zombie infection wasn't half as bad as the way Nate was infecting Eliot.

"No." Hardison responded, refusing to look at Parker.

That made Parker's eyes go even wider. What the hell was going on? She was the one that was supposed to not want to be around Hardison, it seemed overnight, they entered the twilight zone.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Parker exclaimed, turning from Hardison to Eliot.

"Parker." Eliot pushed. "The more we work together, the faster we can leave."

Parker figured that made sense, but was still suspicious. She noticed Sophie giving Hardison a hard look.

"I'm driving the hummer." Parker decided, making sure not to look toward Hardison. "If anyone is riding with me, they best get in before I leave."

With that, she walked away, stomping into the red RV.

_An hour later:_

The three vehicles were now on their way, passing through the edge of Georgia and into Alabama.

Sophie managed to drag Hardison into the Hummer, where he silently sat in the passenger's seat as Parker sped along the highway. Neither spoke a word to the other.

Finally, Parker turned the radio on, searching for a clear station. She swerved a little, not paying attention.

"Watch the road!" Hardison yelped as they swerved into the middle lane.

Parker looked over at him with a perplexed expression.

"Does it look like we are going to run into anyone?" Parker asked, sarcastically.

He glared at her.

She glared back and swerved the car into the oncoming traffic lane again.

"Stop it, Parker."

She smiled evilly at him and swerved wider, the left tires tipping off the cement road and onto the dirt lined curb.

"Parker!" He yelled.

She laughed a little and straightened the car out.

Hardison let out a huff, annoyed by her antics.

"You can get out any time." Parker spoke up, then pressed the unlock door button. Hardison glanced down at the passenger side door where the knob popped up, indicating that he was free to jump out.

"Let's just get this over with." Hardison answered, pulling out his laptop.

She gave a curt nod.

He typed a few things on the keyboard and looked over at her. She was just as beautiful as ever. Her hair still sleek and perfect, despite the fact that they were on the road 24/7. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were intense. She was still slender, but he could tell she had a core strength about her now that let him know she could hold her own in a zombie fight.

"We're headed to the Texas Medical Center in Houston."

"Okay." Parker responded. "So…I assume you have the blueprints?"

He gave her a sideways glance. "You shouldn't even have to ask that question."

She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, it's fairly strong security, but as long as we are on the same…side, I should be able to hack the system no problem."

Parker shot her head around with a devilish grin.

"Are you admitting that Chaos was too much for you to handle?"

Hardison's knuckles tightened as she said his name out loud. He remembered back to the high-tech fight they had as the group attempted to face off in Washington D.C.

She was surprised to see him look at her with a disgusted and deeply offended face.

"It was a joke." She sighed, and focused back on the road.

"Very funny." He responded without a hint of laughter. There was a cold silence.

"Didn't know you had lost your sense of humor." She muttered under her breath.

They sat in another long silence.

"So." Parker spoke up. "Are you going to tell me how to get in the building or should I just have Chaos explain it to me?" She asked, tired of this awkwardness. They used to be so in sync and now, everything was painful.

"Whatever." He responded. "You're good at trading out people who aren't up to your standards."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Parker questioned slowly, her foot pressing harder up against the gas pedal, zooming them ahead of the caravan.

Hardison ignored the speed, anger fueling his words.

"Don't worry, I get it, everyone is expendable. You just switch up whenever you are bored. I understand." Hardison answered airily.

"Excuse me?" Parker was flabbergasted. Here she was, handing out an olive branch to help Nate's team, to speak with Hardison, despite his rude remarks, and he tells her she is the vindictive one?

"Don't play dumb, Parker."

Parker was utterly confused, speeding faster and faster, getting angrier and angrier.

"Are you trying to say that I betrayed _you_?" The 65 mile per hour sign whipped past them outside as they zoomed at nearly 100 miles per hour, Parker hot with rage.

"Well, I mean, you are sleeping with the one hacker that I hate more than anything." He winced as he said it.

Without warning, Parker slammed her foot against the brake so hard that if it had not been for their seatbelts they would have been thrown out the front window. The tires burned against the pavement, leaving tire marks on the road. They hurtled to a stop.

"Damn Parker." Hardison whined as he massaged the back of his neck.

"What did you just say?" She said this slowly, turning to make sure she was looking him directly in the eye.

"I'm just saying you can ease to a stop every once in a while." He scoffed, twisting his neck to iron out the kinks.

She ignored him. "Did you just tell me that I'm sleeping with Chaos?" She enunciated every syllable to make sure he understood her question. He had to be joking.

"You could have picked someone else you know. Anyone else, but no, you had to pick him." Hardison glared at her, more hurt than anything.

She had no way to respond. All words seemed to fail her at the moment. She took a moment as they stared at one another.

"First of all, who I sleep with is none of your business anymore. It stopped being your business, the day that you left Eliot and me."

He made to say something, but she held up her hand. He went silent.

"Second, I am not sleeping with Chaos. Why the hell would you think that anyway? It's disgusting."

Hardison was frozen, taking everything in. She wasn't romantically entangled with his arch nemesis? It was like his body was released from its chains and he was free again.

"Chaos." Hardison growled.

Parker laughed.

"Are you telling me, that you are that gullible, that you would believe the lies fed to you by your biggest hacker competition?"

The moment she said it, he knew she was right.

"Well" he responded, "You've changed. I don't even know who you are anymore."

She looked down at him, disappointed.

"If anyone is going to be upset, it's me." She sighed and turned back to put the car back in drive.

"Please." Hardison responded. "You were just waiting for a reason to leave the group, to leave me."

She turned back around to him. "How dare you!"

They squared off.

Parker continued. "I trusted this team. You were my…family."

"Yeah, and that's why you ran."

Parker sat up taller, getting more offended by the second. This wasn't how this conversation was supposed to go. She was supposed to yell at him for abandoning her and he was supposed to apologize profusely and beg forgiveness. No, things were definitely headed in the wrong direction.

"I was the one that was set-up, not you! You got away. You left us to die."

Hardison clenched his jaw and turned back to sit forward in his seat. How dare she think he would be the type of person to abandon her, the person he loved more than anything.

"I saved you, Parker." He said jaw still tight with anger.

Parker rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's why I had to escape the most heavily guarded prison in America on my own?"

He whipped his head around and glared at her.

"Are you kidding me?" He gave a derisive laugh. She remained firm, unwavering.

"I was the one that got you out. The minute I found out where they took you, I got you out. Do you really think that in a maximum security prison, doors are accidentally left unlocked?" He made quotations in the air emphasizing 'accidentally'.

Parker sat back a little, heated by the conversation, trying desperately to recount the events of her escape.

_5 years ago:_

"_You are truly a unique individual." The man in black complimented. _

_Parker kept her eyes dead set on the wall in front of her, focusing on the specs of spattered blood. _

_He smiled at her. "I just don't know what to do with you." He rubbed his chin. _

_Parker didn't give any hint or sign that she had heard him. _

"_Electrocution, dehydration, suffocation, sleep deprivation, starvation, I mean, how many can say they've been through that and still show a lack of weakness. We need to get our front line military in here and learn how you do that. I am proud of your dedication, I really am."_

_Parker sat still. It was true, the past weeks involved horrendous torture, the type that she would never forget, but it was still nothing compared to the betrayal she felt. Everything was like ice. She didn't care anymore. _

"_Since we haven't been able to get anything out of you, my dear, I felt it was my duty to move forward. Your accomplice, Eliot Spencer, is currently unconscious in one of our 'training rooms' across the facility. He seemed to fight just as much as you, but it seems that he can't quite handle the electrocution." _

_Parker perked up at his name. The only other person that understood what she had gone through these past weeks. _

"_Yes, you remember him. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that his time is running out." _

_Parker stayed silent. It surprised her that the man in black no longer bothered to chain her wrists. Maybe he would kill her today. _

"_There is a limit to how long we try to work a deal with traitors, before it isn't worth the cost. Mr. Spencer is reaching that point. I would be surprised if he lasted the day." _

_Parker gritted her teeth. The man in black knew he struck a chord. _

_Parker continued to stare at the wall, tracing the blood spattering on the wall, with her line of sight. _

"_All you have to do is admit it. Admit that you tried to assassinate the President of the United States of America."_

_She didn't move; didn't even blink. The room was silent as the man in black stood, waiting. _

"_Very well then." The man in black concluded. "I have an appointment with a retrieval specialist. If you find that your memory all of a sudden returns, knock on the door. I wouldn't wait too long though; your friend might not last as long as you think." _

_With that, the man in black gave her one last slippery grin and paced out of the room. _

_Parker sat frozen, inwardly her mind speeding at a hundred miles per hour. Either Eliot would die now, or they would both die later. Which one? _

_After another moment, she slowly stood up. She paced cautiously around the room, enjoying the freedom of walking on her own for the first time in a long time. Her body was much sorer than she'd care to admit, but it still worked, and her determination was as strong as ever. _

_She walked over and knocked on the door. There was only one choice left. _

"_Step back." A gruff voice barked from outside the metal doorway. _

_She took a silent step backward away from the doorway and turned around, arms behind her back. _

_The man unlatched the large door and took a step in. He gave a chuckle._

"_I knew you would crack one of these days."_

_Without the guard even noticing it, she managed to slip her fingers around his belt. She managed to grasp her fingers around her favorite toy. Without warning, she spun around with the guard's taser in hand. Before he had the chance to react, the taser was at his neck. His eyes went wide, rolled back behind his eyelids and his body went limp and fell to the ground. She quickly unlatched his belt and threw it over her shoulder._

_Parker's heart was racing. The only chance she had left was to sneak out, save Eliot and escape; otherwise there would be no chance for either of them. _

_She quickly grabbed the guard's belt of supplies and lugged it over her shoulder. Silently craning her neck around the doorway, she looked to see if anyone was coming. The walls were pale white, doors lining the hallway, but no one was there. _

_She quickly raced down the hall, racing through surprisingly unlocked doors, and then quickly stopping at the fire escape map on the wall next to the fire extinguisher. She ran her finger along the path she wanted to take. It was easier than she thought it would be. In most maximum security prisons they wouldn't leave hallways abandoned or post maps of the facility on the walls. Something about this was odd. _

_Ignoring the strange feeling, she ran ahead. Voices in the hallway echoed causing her to slide to a stop and paste herself up against the wall. She was sure that they would see her, and was sure that any moment the video cameras in the hallways would spot her, starting the alarms. _

_Looking around for an escape, as the voices grew louder and louder, she looked up. There was a large air vent. She sucked in her breath in sheer excitement. How was this working? This was one of the most secure prisons in the country. How could this be so easy for her? No plan and she was still alive?_

_She quickly pulled open the air vent, which was surprisingly unlocked and hoisted herself inside. It was dingy and smelly, but she wasn't about to complain. She elbowed her way along the vents estimating which direction she needed to take to get to Eliot. At one point, she slid up to the exit of one of the vents and glanced out to see where exactly she was, but it didn't take long for her to mentally map out her movement. _

_Further and further she went until the vents started getting dirtier and the stench made her gag. She knew she was in the right place. She glanced out of one of the air vent covers to see the hallway that she knew all too well. This was where they tortured her. _

_Parker slowly slid along the vents, glancing in every room. Most were empty. Some had unconscious men lying on the floor, but none were Eliot. Then she heard it._

"_Are you telling me, that Eliot Spencer is innocent?" It was the man in black. Parker could identify that slippery voice anywhere. "Are you telling me that that Eliot Spencer isn't a traitor?"_

_Parker noticed that the room was dark and leaned a bit to get a better look at Eliot. He did look worn out, his body was beaten and he seemed to be thinner now. She froze as she heard him speak. She had been alone in the prison for so long that it was like a breath of fresh air to hear his voice again, especially when she heard him fight back, just as she had all these weeks._

"_I'm not a traitor." Eliot hissed. "I didn't do what you said I did, I was set up."_

_The man in black nodded in thought. "Oh. And who would set-up one of the most dangerous retrieval specialists in the nation?"_

"_Na-" Eliot stopped and dropped his head. Parker waited patiently, identifying the right time to make her move._

"_So." The man in black said, standing upright and making a decision. "I think we need to make this more real for you."_

_Eliot looked up. Parker could tell he didn't have much left in him. They had his hands barred to the chair, his body pasted with patches attached to electrical wire. Parker felt around for the guard's belt for anything she could use to cut the wire holding him down. Her hand caught on just the right tool._

"_I say level five is in order." The man said. Eliot winced. Parker knew it was now or never. She watched the man in black saunter over, right under her. If he had looked up, he would have spotted her ice cold eyes staring at him with hatred._

_The man reached for the handle and that's when Parker erupted. She burst from the vent using the taser to incapacitate the slippery enemy in seconds. She had tased him a little longer than necessary, but it took all her strength to stop and go help Eliot._

_She walked straight up to him. "Eliot. Can you hear me? We've got to get out of here."_

"_Huh?" He mumbled. _

_Oh crap. She thought to herself. Of course the second that we have a chance to escape, he loses his mind._

"_Eliot. Come on!" She pulled something from a compartment around her waist and unclamped his wrists from the metal chair. She then proceeded to unceremoniously lift him up. "I need you to help me here." She complained as he leaned all of his weight onto her tiny frame. _

_They hobbled themselves over to the air duct where she had dropped in from. She reached up, and nimbly pulled herself into the air shaft. She then popped her head out, glad to see that Eliot was standing on his own and reached for his arms. _

"_Eliot!" She quietly screeched. "Get a grip! Pull yourself up. We don't have much time." As soon as she spoke those words, the alarms, somewhere far away, went off, alerting the guards that there was an escapee on the loose. _

_She shoved him down the air duct having to kick him awake a few times, but they managed to make it to the rooftop vent. Both pulled themselves out. All of the guards were on alert, the alarm sound was deafening. Parker held her breath, they were so close, they just had to get outside of the walls._

_Eliot fell to the ground in a daze as Parker carefully surveyed the area. There were towers with guard's and guns in them, vividly surveying the grounds. She ducked a little, to be safe. She then identified an unmarked vehicle by the gates. That was their exit. It was perfect. Easy access from the roof, just a jump and a hop down. All they had to do was get past the cameras and the guards standing at the gate. _

_They crawled their way down the facility. The guards were burly and she could tell that Eliot was not going to be able to handle them in his state. _

_When they were not twenty feet away from the guards, Parker looked at them carefully. This would not be easy. _

_She glanced around looking at any hidden area where they could jump down. Nothing. She had just about given up when she heard the bulkier guard's radio make a loud noise telling them that the escapee was on the other side of the facility and that they needed all hands on deck. The three guards raced inside and out of site. _

"_What are the odds?" Parker asked, thoroughly confused. _

_Eliot didn't respond, bleary eyed. _

_They quickly hopped down off the side, onto a van and then onto the ground. Parker couldn't believe this was possible, but she wasn't about to let this unbelievable stroke of luck go to waste. _

_They quickly made their way to the unmarked vehicle with obviously fake license plates. The doors were unlocked and she felt her fingers under the steering wheel where they electrical wires were in a tangled maze. _

_Quickly identifying the one she wanted, the car roared to life. A triumphant squeal came from Parker's lips as she slammed the car into reverse, then drove out of the Parking lot. She broke through the entrance into the facility, knocking the wooden arm that would go up and down depending on who entered and exited, to the ground. She sped as fast as the car would take her, as far away as possible. _

_Soon after, they ditched the car and went off the grid. _

_The rest became history. _

Parker looked at Hardison. Hardison stared at her as he watched the recognition appear on her face.

"It was you." She said with a quiet breath. "The unlocked vents, the maps…the car."

Hardison nodded with a soft smile, then gently touched her hand. "I will always come for you."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note:

I am so so sorry for the delay on this chapter. Everything has been soooo busy for me lately. It will be another week before I get the next one posted, but after that, all of my crazy work will die down and I can really focus on getting chapters out like I used too.

As always, you guys are the best. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 9:

"I told them." Eliot complained. "You heard me tell them."

Parker nodded, as she leaned up against the back of the hummer, next to one of the gas dispensers at an abandoned BP Station.

"Do you think they're okay?" Caroline asked worried.

About twenty minutes ago, the caravan of cars passed by a screaming woman on the side of the road. She was in an oversized floral dress, which was now stained and faded.

Parker rolled down her window as they passed by to get a better look.

"You should stop for her. See what she needs." Hardison encouraged.

Parker shook her head. "It's a trap." Then sped along.

Right as she said that, Eliot's voiced boomed over the radio. "It's a trap. Whatever you do, don't stop."

Next, Nate's voice issued from the speakers. "We need to pull over, look at her."

"Don't do it." Eliot warned.

"The least we can do is give her some food." Nate replied.

Parker rolled her eyes.

"Pull over, Parker." Hardison repeated. Parker sped past the woman as she cried and cried some more.

"My son! It's my son! He's broken his leg!" She cried.

"Come now." Sophie's voice echoed. "Have a heart."

"It's a trap." Eliot repeated.

The hummer quickly passed by, followed by Chaos driving the RV with Eliot and Caroline inside.

"We're stopping." Nate said.

Eliot hung his head in annoyance.

The group that decided not to stop, patiently waited at the gas station about a mile up the road.

"Idiots." Eliot muttered to himself.

Hardison stood awkwardly, trying not to look at Parker. Their conversation in the hummer didn't last very long, but it changed everything.

"Should we go back?" Caroline asked.

"Nope." Parker answered. "They took the risk, they deal with the consequences."

"They will be fine." Chaos reassured Caroline.

Parker and Eliot's faces both went wide and swiveled around to get a good look at Chaos.

"What did you just say?" Eliot asked, ready to burst into laughter.

"Nothing!" Chaos answered, caught off guard.

"No." Parker held her hand over her mouth. "You just said something nice."

Caroline was lost, and blushing profusely.

"Don't look at me like that!" Chaos scowled.

Parker was about to say something when a shrieking sound reverberated in the distance.

They all looked over, Eliot gripping his weapon tighter.

"RUN!" Sophie and Nate shrieked as they sprinted over the hill towards them.

"What did they say?" Caroline squinted.

"RUN! RUN! GO!" Nate and Sophie hollered.

Just as they got close, the group spotted a group of about ten stampeding zombies fumbling and racing after the pair of them.

"What the hell?" Eliot questioned. "Where did they come from?"

"And where is Big Lucy?" Hardison whimpered.

The group quickly shuffled themselves in the RV and hummer, appreciating that they had time earlier to fill up with gas, and began to drive away, giving Nate and Sophie just enough time to jump into the hummer.

As they drove away, the horde of zombies faltered and gave up, slowing to a stop at the gas station.

"What the hell happened back there?" Hardison asked, looking back at Nate. "Where's Big Lucy?"

Nate glanced into the rearview mirror at Eliot who was driving, who smirked, then over to Sophie who threw up her hands relinquishing responsibility, then back at Hardison who continued to stare him down with dangerous curiosity.

"Well, it seems that the lady was lying."

"Okay." Hardison said cautiously.

Nate shrugged. "She had us at gunpoint, then took it."

Eliot glanced over at Hardison and smiled. Hardison glared back.

"And you call yourself a master grifter." Hardison complained to Sophie, giving up on ever seeing his RV again.

"Oi, don't look at me, I wasn't driving it. Besides, it's much harder to tell when they are lying in 'Zombie America'. Everyone is crying here, murdering there."

Hardison rolled his eyes and turned around. Normally, he would have been fuming at the loss of his RV, but ever since the conversation with Parker, everything seemed a little brighter.

"So what do we do now?" Parker's voice appeared over the speaker system.

Nate reached over Eliot for the radio transmitter. "We get the second vial." He answered.

There was a silence on the other end. Finally Chaos spoke.

"Okay, but weren't the schematics in the other RV?"

It irked Nate that Parker was so angry with him that she couldn't even converse with him over the radio. Though he knew it shouldn't surprise him. He deserved it.

"Yeah, but we know those already. The problem is the third vial."

Eliot glanced back at him, curious.

"What about the third vial?" Chaos asked over the speakers.

"We don't exactly know where it is, yet." Nate answered.

"What?" Eliot asked angrily. The group heard Chaos and Parker let out a frustrated holler simultaneously in the RV behind them. Eliot continued. "You don't know where the third one is?"

"Not exactly." Sophie interjected. "But we know it's somewhere top secret, with security we've never even seen before."

"Great." Eliot complained. "Because zombies aren't enough."

"And how do you suppose we find it?" Parker asked, irritated.

"We will get the second vial, and then brainstorm. Caroline's father was close friends with the other two scientists who developed the serum. He gave Caroline all the information that we need; we just have to decipher it."

"Great." Parker huffed.

"So we get as far as we can tonight, and then camp overnight." Nate ordered.

"No way." Chaos complained.

Nate pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Now, not only is the team bickering again, but they were stuck in even closer quarters than before. Two vehicles for seven people would be very cramped.

"I know a place we can stay the night." Eliot spoke up.

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"The town next to mine was really small and we can camp out at the local high school. It's been empty for months."

Silence again. Nate had told Sophie about Eliot's family and so, it was only a matter of time before the rest knew as well.

"Are you sure?" Parker asked after a moment.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He answered as they sped along.

_Later that night:_

The hammering was almost finished to Nate's unbelievable relief. They made it to J. Rutherford High School where it was surprisingly abandoned. It looked like a normal town, hidden away from the infection. If they hadn't known better, they would have been sure that school would have been back in session the following day. Unfortunately, they did know better.

The group spent the evening boarding up all the windows in the gymnasium section of the high school. They clamped the doors shut isolating the gym, locker rooms and the pool. For the night at least, it was like a hotel. Freedom without zombies. More than that, it was freedom from each other.

"Done." Nate said to himself, wiping his forehead with a sleeve. He had spent the last hour checking and rechecking the windows and doorways, just to be certain. He didn't want any surprises sneaking in out of the night. They had gone through too much for something like that to happen now.

He walked into the men's locker room, which was eerily silent. A few lockers still hung open with football jersey's and helmet's sitting neatly inside. He wandered over to the showers to test them out. He turned the knob and leaned away as not to get water on his clothes. At first, the liquid that spewed out had a brown tint to it, but quickly cleared out as the rust in the pipes were running. After a few seconds, the water even managed to warm up a little bit.

Having a moment to himself was almost a relief. The pain and stress he'd felt in the last few days seemed to wear him down more than he cared to admit. What once was his family, was now a tangled mess that no matter how hard he tried, he could not get a grasp on.

It was hard enough seeing Hardison again, but running into Parker and Eliot was something he couldn't have been prepared for. The moment his eyes met Parker's up on the top floor, he thought he would die. Her intense hatred sliced into him. He had once had an all out yelling match with Archie, her original father figure, about how he stopped her from having a normal childhood, from becoming a normal child. Nate felt himself like a proud father when she finally started thinking about others and really caring about the people they helped. He'd even thought she was on the road to really building meaningful relationships. Then the phone call came that changed everything.

_5 years ago: _

"_Nate?" Nate's face drained of blood. Her voice was nothing like it normally was, stricken with fear._

"_Sophie, is that you? Where are you?" He forced, his voice rising. _

"_I do-don't know. It's dark, I'm in some kind of holding cell." He could tell she was failing to stay calm. His fingers pressed tighter against his cell phone. _

"_Sophie, hold on, I'm going to get Hardison to track your signal." He said determined. It had been three days since they had last seen her and each member of the team was using all of their contacts and all of their connections to find her. Until this phone call, it seemed that she had slipped off the face of the earth. _

"_No Nate! Don't get off the phone. I don't have much time." She desperately cried. _

_Nate knew it had to be really serious for Sophie to lose control like this. She was always the one that took care of the team, the one that made them a family. Something was seriously wrong. _

"_Sophie, what's going on?" _

"_They've mistaken me for someone else. They are going to use one of my aliases to extradite me back to Turkey. They are going to send me to Diyarbakir!" Her voice faltered at the last word._

"_No they aren't, Sophie, we are coming for you." Nate said forcefully, almost yelling into the phone. He was beginning to feel sheer panic as the lack of control was driving him slowly mad. Diyarbakir, she said. The moment the word came out of her lips, it felt like he had been submerged in ice water. _

_Diyarbakir Prison was one of the most dangerous prisons in the world. The prison had been cited on multiple occasions for its human rights violations. Prisoners became so desperate that they would set themselves on fire in protest and commit suicide just to escape. Nate knew what it was most known for, which caused fear to dig further into his skin. Diyarbakir was notorious for the sexual abuse of its inmates. _

"_Who has you Sophie?" _

"_I don't know. I don't remember. The last thing I remember was that I was doing some follow-up in Washington D.C. about some of the irregularities in our latest cases. I was down by the White House and…everything went black!"_

"_Don't worry. That's a start. I will get you out, I promise. No matter what. Sophie? Sophie!"_

_He heard Sophie call out, but her voice was getting quieter indicating that she was being pulled away from the phone._

"_Nathan Ford." A calm brooding voice answered. _

"_Who are you?" Nate hissed, trying to control his voice. _

"_That's not important. What is important is that we have Lemiye Polak in custody for treason."_

"_You have the wrong person." Nate responded a growl rumbling in the back of his throat. _

"_Well, LImiye Polak, Sophie Devereaux, you know, they are all the same. Besides, we don't want her anyway." The man airily answered. _

"_Then what do you want?"_

"_I'm glad you asked Mr. Ford."_

_Nate remained silent as he waited._

"_We want your thief, hitter and hacker. They will become the new faces of terror in America." _

"_No." Nate said. _

"_Well." They brooding voice decided. "Do it." Nate heard the man say to someone in the room. _

_He heard Sophie let out a bloodcurdling scream. _

"_STOP IT! DAMNIT, SOPHIE! SOPHIE!" Nate screamed into the phone. _

_There was a silence on the other end of the line. _

"_Mr. Ford, now that you know our intentions, you might take our requests more seriously."_

"_I can't." Nate pleaded. Hearing Sophie scream like that would be something he would never forget for the rest of his life. He loved her more than anything and anyone. He clawed at his arms, trying to pull a plan together. He inwardly lashed at himself, trying desperately to think of who could be responsible and where she might be. He came up with nothing. _

"_Someone will take the fall. It will either be Lamiye Polak a spy from Turkey or the rest of your team. You have one hour. If you tell anyone about this, we will shoot her on the spot." _

_The line went dead. _

_Nate's body was numb and he couldn't move. The team could find her right? He didn't have a lot of faith. They spent the last three days tracking the whereabouts of their grifter and came up with nothing. The phone call came on an untraceable line, they had nothing. _

_The love of his life, or his team? Who would pay the price. _

_One hour later:_

_He heard the phone vibrate on the table next to his glass of scotch. He waited for it to vibrate once more before he picked it up._

"_You decision Mr. Ford." The man said calmly. _

"_I will take the fall." Nate answered. "You can have me."_

_The man on the other end of the line chuckled. _

"_I appreciate your dedication to your team, but that wasn't the deal." _

"_Please, anything you want, I will pay it." Nate said, his voice shaking. _

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Ford, I need your decision or she dies now."_

"_What do I need to do?" Nate's voice was almost a whisper, not sure how he was managing to speak._

"_We want your trio to break into the White House and retrieve something for us."_

"_Hardison would need to be on the outside, to hack the security feed." Nate said._

_The man on the other end of the line considered this. _

"_Fine, then the other two will go in." The man said, as if he was being generous. _

"_How do I get Sophie back?" Nate pursued. _

"_Don't worry, we will stick to our word, if you stick to yours." The man said. He then continued, "I'm texting you a phone number. When you have your plans ready, call it."_

_Nate was silent. _

"_And if there is any hint or any whisper that you are trying to find her, I will slit her throat myself."_

_Nate then heard another scream from Sophie. It drove him mad. There was some movement and Sophie returned to the phone._

"_Nate?" Her voice was now weak, and he began to cry._

"_Sophie, I'm coming for you. Do you hear me? I love you and I'm coming for you."_

_Then, before she could respond, the line went dead._

Nate shivered at the memory. It was one of the worst moments in his life. He had lost so much in his life already, he wasn't going to feel guilty about protecting the one person he cared more than anything for.

Realizing he had been standing in an empty locker room with the shower running for far too long, he quickly turned it off and went in search of the rest of the group.

Sophie looked over at him with a loving smile as she sat on the bleachers next to Caroline in the gym. Chaos and Hardison sat on opposite sides of Sophie and Caroline, determined to remain at least twenty feet away from the other at all times.

No, he couldn't regret his decision, he would never let anything happen to her. She gave him a questioning look as he came up and sat next to her.

"Everything okay?" She asked, gently touching his shoulder.

"Everything's fine." He answered. "Just making sure the windows and doors were secure."

Sophie nodded.

"What's going on over here?" He asked, motioning his head over to Eliot and Parker.

Both Hitter and Thief were sparring in the center of the gymnasium.

"Apparently, Parker is under the impression that she can beat him." Sophie laughed.

Nate chuckled, got comfortable as they watched the two go at it.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note:

Hi again everyone. Here is chapter 10! I'm writing chapter 11 right now and will have it posted as soon as it's finished. This chapter is one that I really enjoyed writing because there are a lot of subtle situations that will cause friction later on. Just because the team is working together now doesn't mean that everything is okay. There is still a lot of hurt and anger hidden away. Oh, and don't forget we still have to get the other two vials!

Please Read and Review! Enjoy!

Chapter 10:

The sparring lasted a good hour, Parker managing to get the upper hand against Eliot a few times. It had been the only time so far where the group actually remained pleasant and friendly in each other's company.

They watched as Parker managed to throw a punch towards Eliot's face. He quickly returned by shoving it away and sliding his body around to grab a hold of her arm. He latched onto the arm with both hands and tried to flip her over his back. It worked, but her catlike reflexes were ready for this move as she flipped over him with ease landing comfortably on her feet, where she managed to then use Eliot's strength against him. Without warning she dropped down, dragging him to the floor.

This went on for what could have been an hour until both were lying on the blue wrestling mats in the middle of the gym panting.

"So who won?" Caroline asked, finally looking up from her book.

The two fighters heaved, looking over at each other.

"I did." They both called out at the same time and gave each other mischievous glares.

Parker glanced back over at the group on the bleachers. She quickly noticed Nate whispering something in Sophie's ear. She perked up and nodded. A pang of anger flared in her as they both stood up and walked out of the gymnasium hand in hand.

The group feigned ignorance, but everyone knew they were headed to the pool for a midnight swim, alone together.

Parker sat up, taking a moment to glance at Eliot, whose jaw was set. Both Parker and Eliot knew that the love that was Nate and Sophie would abandon them in a second if it stood in the way of their love. Things hadn't changed, no matter how much the two hoped.

"Going to go for a walk." Eliot growled as he walked off to in the direction of the weight training room.

"Yeah, I need a shower." Parker frowned, getting up, pulling some clothes from her overnight duffel bag and walking into the women's locker room.

Parker let the water rush over her. It had been a week and a half since her last real shower, and a month since her last warm one. The pain with being on the road was it was difficult to find working plumbing. The dirt and soot from the fire slid down her skin to the floor and into the drain.

She tried to slow her mind down and only focus on the warm water, but it was difficult. All these emotions that she had locked away years ago were escaping like sand through a key hole.

_Over at the pool: _

The big room was dark as they pulled the covering off of the pool. Nate quickly turned the underwater lights on, illuminating the shimmering water.

Sophie stood amazed. Since the infection began, every pool she had crossed paths with was dirty and dingy. This one was perfect. And more than that, it was just her and Nate, alone.

He looked over at her and gave a devious grin. At the same time, both quickly dropped their clothes and stood in their underwear. Neither said a word, hearts were both thumping with anticipation and excitement. Not a second later, Sophie dove into the deep side of the pool. The refreshing clean feeling enveloped her.

"Are you coming?" She asked seductively.

Nate swallowed hard, sitting on the edge of the pool, then quickly slid into the cool water.

He watched her swim up to him underwater, and then rise out of the water like a goddess. His heart quickened. Her face was rosy and her hair was slicked back, dripping. He was doing everything in his power to keep from ravenously attacking her then and there. She gave a sly smile, knowing that she was in complete control. The lights under the water shimmered on her face, and her olive skin called him to touch it. He leaned in a bit, vying for a kiss, but she simultaneously pulled backwards and ducked underwater, teasing him.

After a while of swimming around, they both ended up on the edge of the pool, looking deeply into the others eyes.

"You know, I'm really proud of you Nate." Sophie spoke up, breaking the silence.

He cocked his head, questioningly. "Why do you say that?" He asked, rubbing her shoulder, unable to keep himself away from her.

"For working with the group again. I know it must be difficult for you." His face gave a momentary pained expression.

"It's difficult for you too, and I don't want to talk about it right now. I don't want to talk at all right now." This moment was about being alone with the love of his life; he didn't want to soil it with thoughts of guilt and pain.

"I know." She sighed, and then as if the water washed it away, she looked at him seductively. Taking the initiative, she slowly moved up to him, waiting just a moment, and then taking his lips into hers.

_In the gym_:

Parker had finished with her extra long shower, quickly put on a tank top and a pair loose pajama bottoms. As she entered the gym, she was greeted by the sound of old music. It sounded just like it was being played on a record player back in the 1920's, but instead, she noticed the music was emanating from some speakers connected to Hardison's iPod.

She walked over to her sleeping bag at the far end of the gym and pulled out a brush. She tried to keep her eyes focused on the floor as she combed out her hair, but couldn't help looking over at Hardison every couple of minutes.

Her heart fluttered when he looked up at her from his computer. _Don't get distracted!_ She told herself. It was like they were two magnets, and the harder they tried to pull away from the other, the faster they were shoved together.

She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Hardison had actually saved her. All this time, she had been going under the assumption that she was on her own, and here, all along, he was there for her. Her mind whizzed, running through the escape from Cheyenne Prison, the most secure prison in the world. Realizing it now, she had been very naive to think that she could have escaped on her own. She shook her head. Then why had it taken so long? She and Eliot had been stuck in that prison for months. Why didn't he come for them sooner, why didn't he rescue _her_ sooner?

She was interrupted by someone standing in front of her. Her heart stopped as she looked up from her seat on the sleeping bag. The song switched to a slower melodious tune from the 1920's.

"Can I have this dance?" Hardison asked gently. He held his hand out to her and she couldn't catch her breath.

"S-sure." She answered, feeling all of a sudden very flustered and confused.

The moment her hand touched his, it felt like fire, with amazing and intoxicating flames. He quickly pulled her to her feet and led her to the center of the gym. He swung her softly around. Her left hand fell gently into his, while her right arm rested on his shoulder.

He moved his free hand to slide around her waist. He was sure he would pass out from sheer panic, but he couldn't stop himself. The music was perfect, she was perfect, and this moment was perfect.

He glanced over at Chaos who gave him a dirty look, then was dragged out of the room by Caroline, leaving just the two of them alone.

It didn't take long before the tension was gone and she rested her head against his shoulder. His eyes reflexively closed, unable to control the feeling of joy and sheer happiness that washed over him. It had been so long since he had felt her in his arms. He drank in every moment. They swayed to the music in silence, both just enjoying being in the other's arms. Parker tried in the beginning to stay strong and hard, like Eliot always did, but being with him, as he held her, brought back a rush of memories from their time together and it was nice to pretend that they hadn't parted, and none of the painful mess with abandonment and zombies ever happened.

He rested his head gently on hers, taking in the fresh smell of her hair. He had dreamed of seeing her again, of taking in her beautiful scent and beautiful touch. It was all too much for him, but he kept drinking it in, unable to stop. The music continued, and so did they for a few songs before Hardison finally spoke in a husky voice.

"I remember the last time we were dancing in a high school." He whispered in her ear.

He felt her nod against his chest. Yes, the last time they did this, they were at William H. Radford High School conning Larry Duberman to give them the password for his Manticore computer system. Parker had slid down on her harness from the ceiling, during the reunion dance and they had a sweet moment with one another dancing in the auditorium.

They continued to dance. She could feel his strong chest against her cheek. She moved both her arms around his neck and he then wrapped both arms around her tightening his grip and squeezing her to him. It was like she was home again, enveloped in his masculine arms, protected from anything and everything. It had been so long since she had felt protected.

"I tried to find you." He finally said.

"I know." She mumbled into his chest, and then slowly looked up.

His eyes were magnificent and intense, peering directly through her soul. She couldn't help but be mesmerized by him. He had changed, she could tell, but the way he looked at her was the one thing that had not changed from years ago.

There was a silence as the music had reached the end of its playlist. Both stood still in the center of the gymnasium afraid to move, afraid to breathe.

"Alec." She whispered.

He leaned in ever so slowly, afraid that she wouldn't kiss him, and even more afraid that she would. He closed his eyes just as she began to close hers. He could feel her breath on his lips, the anticipation building until he was sure he would burst into flames then and there. Both bodies tensed, ready for the one thing they had both been secretly waiting for five years.

Thump!

Both Parker and Hardison whipped around to see Caroline frozen in fear, eyes wide. Everything was silent except for the bottle of antiseptic that thumped all the way down the bleachers and onto the floor. They reflexively jumped apart, now a three foot gap between them.

"I just needed to grab some gauze and washcloths from my bag" she said in a high pitched voice. "I'm sorry!" She squeaked as she raced out of the room knowing that she had interrupted something and had become enemy #1 in Parker's eyes.

The room now had an awkward silence as they stood three feet apart, stock still. Neither one looked at the other as the pain of the last few years filled the space in between them.

"I need some sleep." Parker mumbled as she retreated back to her sleeping bag, scooted inside, sliding so far in that only tip of her head could be seen popping out of the hole in the sleeping bag.

Hardison looked in disappointment over at her lumpy figure hiding in the sleeping bag then gathered up his stuff, slid into his own sleeping bag and tried desperately to go to sleep.

_In the coach's office:_

"Did you get it?" Chaos asked as Caroline stepped back into the room closing the door.

"Yes." She squeaked.

"What is it?" Chaos asked concerned.

"I think I just interrupted something." Caroline's face had a pained expression.

Chaos gave an angry look. "What kind of something did you interrupt?"

"I think Parker and Alec were about to kiss." She said embarrassed.

"What!" Chaos hollered as he made to storm back into the gym.

Caroline caught his shirt and pulled him back. "Can't you just leave them alone for one night?" She asked.

"No." Chaos muttered.

He flopped into the plush coach's chair and held out his hands, looking around the room at all the trophies and pictures of the high school football teams.

Caroline went on with her usual care of his wounds. She would check to see if they'd improved, then go in and re-bandage them.

They were silent for a few moments as she finished up.

"Are you in love with Parker?" Caroline asked bluntly.

Chaos was caught off guard with the question and looked at her surprised.

"Uh-I-uh." He said flustered.

"Sorry, I shouldn't pry." She said politely.

"No, I'm not in love with Parker." He answered, calmly.

Caroline tipped her head to show that she'd heard him.

"I just don't want Alec Hardison to have her." Chaos continued with an edge to his voice.

She looked at him with a disappointed motherly tone.

"So why do you go by Chaos, what's your real name?" She asked, changing the subject.

"What's with the twenty questions?" He countered.

She shrugged and leaned back in her chair.

"Just curious. Chaos can't be your real name?"

"Two can play at this game." He smirked. "Where's the third vial?"

She gave him a sideways glance suspiciously, and then smiled.

They paused both waiting for the other to answer first.

"Colin Mason."

She nodded her head slowly.

"Your turn." he added.

She gave a sly smile and shook her head. "I don't know where it is." She answered.

"That's a lie." He said. "I can read you like a book."

"Please" she laughed, "you don't know anything about me."

"Well, let's change that." He responded flirtatiously.

_In the weight training room: _

Eliot lifted weights for about an hour before he took a break. He needed to take his frustration out somewhere, and the only place that didn't seem to be crawling with lovebirds was in the weight room.

He noticed Sophie and Nate sneak off for a midnight swim. When he returned to the gym thirty minutes later, he noticed Parker and Hardison dancing alone, and then as he wandered back to the weight room he was able to see Caroline and Chaos bantering in the coach's office.

It irked him that everyone was pairing off, yet again. Parker had said to him that they could never go back to the way it was, and she had even given him a hard time for his willingness to work with the team, but it seemed now more than ever that she was the one falling back into old patterns.

He lifted more weights, grunting not only in response to the weight, but to his frustration as well.

Somehow there were always an odd number of people, and he was the one left standing alone.

From the vibe he got when he popped his head in the gym, he knew that staying away from both the gym and pool would be best for the night. He opted to lean himself up against a wall and close his eyes for a bit. _Alone again._ He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately for the team, no one heard the soft scratching of fingernails onto the window panels, right outside.


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note:_

Thanks for the continued reviews.

Mony 19: I actually didn't plan to have Chaos and Caroline involved at all in the beginning, so it was a surprise to me too when I started hinting at a relationship (not that I am saying there will be a relationship). You are right, if I had planned it in the beginning, I probably would have made her a tad older, but she's 27, and she is slowly learning how to take care of herself.

Jojobevco: Yes, I thought about that in the beginning as well. You'd think it would be easy for Nate to figure out how to save Sophie without risking the team, but then again, the kidnappers weren't exactly looking for money. They would have killed her in a second. Also, there wouldn't be story if he could solve every problem.

Meagan, Blackspots, Fan of Leverage: Thanks for the feedback! It's easy to get the Leverage team into trouble, it's much harder to get them out of it. Thanks for your support throughout the story.

Chapter 11:

Nate's mind was foggy and his thoughts danced on the line that separated reality from the dream world. He saw his son, standing in front of him, head tilted to the side.

"Sam?" Nate mumbled. The boy moved forward without saying a word. The boy's shirt was a bold red and he sported quality blue jeans. Nate mumbled his name again and tried to lean forward, to reach him, to touch him.

Everything was murky but sunlight was making it difficult to see. He rubbed his eyes, squinting to see his son.

"Sam, come here." He called out, but the dream quickly morphed from his happy son into something different. The boy no longer tilted his neck in the cute way that Nate remembered, no, this boy's neck was turned sideways almost being held up by his shoulder. Nate quickly gathered that this was not his son. The bold red shirt bled through to his jeans staining them.

"Shit!" Nate yelped as he backed up. Finally his vision cleared. Not five feet away from the bottom of his sleeping bag was a child, an infected child slowly limping up to him.

Parker was up in an instant. She looked fairly close to a cat who had been startled. Ears perked, eyes peeled, she took in the situation. Light shone in from the far window where she watched as zombie children began fumbling their way over the window sill and into the gymnasium. Child after child of all ages crawled in, desperate to reach them.

A few others woke up in the same startled fashion, each backing up as quickly as they could.

"Hardison, get up!" Nate called as a young girl in pigtails hobbled her way to his sleeping bag. Hardison remained blissfully asleep, unaware of the impending danger looming before him.

"Hardison!" Sophie yelped.

Hardison shifted slightly, but did not wake.

There were now seven children with blank stares and broken bodies. How they could still move, Nate wasn't sure.

Nate watched as Parker quickly darted towards Hardison.

"Parker no!" Eliot yelled emerging from the weight training room surprised to find zombie children in the gym.

She sidestepped the blonde boy that Nate had mistaken for his son and snuck over to Hardison. The girl in pigtails watched her curiously, but it didn't take much time for the girl to smell Parker's blood and build up speed. The other children edged toward Parker, moving faster and faster. She managed to slide up to Hardison where she quickly grasped the built in pillow attached to the sleeping bag and dragged him backwards.

"Of course you refuse to wake up when zombie children are ready to eat you. Of course." She huffed as she dragged him away as quickly as possible. The girl with the pigtails snarled and moved faster.

Hardison squirmed a little.

"Get up you idiot!" Eliot barked.

The kids were now moving faster, picking up their speed. The group, only in their pajamas, were caught off guard and knew they couldn't risk hand to hand combat when there were so many chances of being scratched or bitten or mauled.

"The weight room" Eliot announced, shoving a few people behind him and out of the gymnasium. The children were already three-fourths of the way there, mindlessly sliding closer, dripping mud and blood across the floor.

The group quickly raced back to the weight room, dragging an unsuspecting Hardison all the way there.

"What do we do?" Caroline cried, looking around the weight room for an exit, finding none.

Eliot and Parker quickly slammed the doors closed and slid a heavy bar between the handles as to keep it shut. They heard a loud thump on the door as the children began banging viciously against the doorway.

"I thought you checked the windows?" Eliot glared over at Nate.

"I did check the windows, twice." He responded angrily.

"Obviously not well enough." Chaos chastised. Sophie whipped her head around.

"Listen here, you little hobbit, I will feed you to the zombies in a second if another word leaves your mouth." Her devious look made Chaos pull his shoulders back defensively.

"Sophie? You don't need to be so rude." Caroline responded, disappointed.

Sophie swiveled around and gave a high pitched laugh.

"Oh, I see, that's how it's going to be?" Her eyes dead set on Caroline. Caroline's eyes went wide, unsure of how to respond.

"What's going on?" Hardison mumbled, crawling out of his sleeping bag and stretching his arms in the air.

"Oh great, now sleeping beauty decides to wake up." Eliot snorted, aggravated.

"What?" Hardison yawned, quickly picking up on the tension in the room, looking back at the doorway that now rumbled with little child fists slamming into the door.

"You'd think after a zombie apocalypse you might be able to keep yourself safe. No. Of course you wouldn't." Eliot sneered.

Hardison gave an offended look.

"Eliot." Parker tried, but he rounded on her just as fast.

"And you." He said with a fixed stare. "Dancing around pretending like nothing happened."

"I didn't forget." She said through gritted teeth.

"Sure, that's why you were plastered to Mr. Sleeping Beauty last night in the gym." He argued, glancing back to Hardison.

"That was nothing. Calm down Eliot." Parker returned, failing to de-escalate the situation.

"Nothing?" Hardison burst out, fuming.

"That's not what I meant." Parker responded quickly, knowing as always, her words never came out properly. Everything was getting confused again, just like last time. She wanted to stay loyal to Eliot, but the pull to be with Alec Hardison was getting stronger and stronger.

"Then what did you mean?" He asked accusingly.

Parker stood silent, unable to answer, children still beating on the door.

"Everyone quiet and let me think!" Nate yelled.

Parker spun around trying to change the subject and lash out at the only man she knew for sure she could be angry with. "And who put in charge?"

Sophie was ready with a retort, but didn't get the chance to respond.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The noise of small clambering knees banging against the ventilation shaft above them caught everyone's attention.

"What was that?" Caroline whispered.

"Sounds like little zombie children." Chaos answered.

"Yeah, crawling through the vents." Parker finished.

"But they can't get in here, right?" Caroline quickly looked from Chaos to Nate.

As if on cue the ventilation shaft cover was shoved open by a little chubby hand.

Caroline screeched and the rest backed up against the wall.

Hardison felt his heart pounding. Normally he would be at a safe distance from the infected hidden in his cave, but now he was stuck with a bickering group of people ready to die by way of flesh eating children.

"We have to fight." Eliot inserted as he watched the child drop to the floor with a thud.

Everyone remained silent as they eyed the child from a distance. He lay there in a heap on the floor, unmoving.

Eliot slowly paced up towards the vent and peered in, making sure there weren't any other surprises crawling inside.

He passed by the weight machines and leaned in to get a better look at the chubby boy. He glanced back at Parker.

"Parker." He called. She knew exactly what he needed.

Quickly spinning around to grab another heavy metal bar, she sent it flying over to him. He slowly reached the bar out and poked the oozing boy, making sure it was officially dead.

"I think it's-" Eliot started, but was quickly interrupted by a shrill yell.

"Look out!" Parker screamed as another smaller and quicker pigtailed zombie flung itself out of the vent and onto Eliot. The vicious child tackled Eliot, clambering around on him, trying to get good grip on him.

Without hesitation, Parker launched herself forward and grabbed the child by the shirt, flinging it to the wall.

Her heart pounded. How could she be so careless? She never sleeps in her pajamas. Why had she decided to this time?

Eliot flung himself backward, surprised with his shirt now smeared with dingy blood.

Parker quickly slammed the bar into the miniature zombie and it crumpled to the ground, Pigtails no longer bouncing in the air.

Nate winced, having trouble accepting a death like that for a child, one that could have easily been his own.

Parker caught his eye. "They aren't children anymore." She said coldly.

There was an eerie silence that fell over the group.

"So how are we going to get out of here?" Chaos complained, slicing into the collective quiet.

"Looks like we have to fight our way out." Eliot answered calmly.

"We can't do that. We could be infected. Even one scratch and it's over." Sophie responded, hoping that Nate had one of his sure fire plans available for a situation like it. Nate gave her the look saying there was no alternative.

"So who fights?" Hardison asked. Everyone knew the risks. Zombies were like dogs, and would nip and claw at anything they could grasp. The chance of avoiding an infection in a hand to hand fight, without thick clothing was slim to none.

"I guess I should." Eliot offered. "I could already be infected anyway." He hoped beyond hope that the pigtailed girl hadn't managed to scratch him anywhere. He gave himself a once over and there didn't look to be any scratches, but then again, he could have missed it as well.

Parker gave him a long worried look.

"Me too." Parker piped up. "I could have been scratched to. We should do it."

Everyone was silent. Hardison looked hard at her. Sure he was beyond frustrated with the blonde in front of him, but the thought of losing her again was worse.

Hardison made to speak up, but Parker held up her hand, firm in her decision.

Ignoring the unsure glances around the room, Eliot took three quick strides over to the closet. Parker was close behind him forcing her eyes to remain forward and not look back at the worried expressions behind her.

"What do you want?" Eliot asked as he pulled an eight pound bar from the corner of the room.

"The bar." She responded grabbing it from him and lifting the weight in her arm, sending practice swings through the air.

Eliot grabbed some free weights testing how well he might be able to throw them.

"Guys" Caroline cautioned. "We might want to hurry."

She was right, the beating was getting louder and more desperate. The noise above them was also more incessant. It was now or never.

Parker and Eliot stormed up to the doorway. Eliot leaned his weight up against the door and kept it closed while Parker pulled the bar latching it shut out of the handles.

"Stay back." Parker warned, looking directly at Hardison. He gave her a stern look ready to leap in and help.

Eliot looked at Parker and without another word they jumped back as a group of rabid children toppled to the floor in front of them.

As they were on the floor there was slashing and slamming as the bar in Eliot's hand took out most of them. A few began to stand up but Parker quickly clipped them and they fell to the floor.

Sophie looked horrified at the scene before them. Eliot and Parker were ruthless, ignoring that these were once innocent children. It disgusted her, but she knew that it was their only chance for survival.

"Let's go!" Parker ordered everyone as they flew through the doorway careful to avoid any moving zombie children.

More and more flesh eating school children filtered in. Eliot and Parker kept their movements fast, quick and permanent. Everyone raced to the main entrance where there were four more children clambering through the window. Some slashed themselves on the jagged window glass but slid through anyway unaware.

While Parker and Eliot fought off the children, Hardison and Nate quickly broke the panels that previously kept the door shut. They pushed the doors open, surveyed the area, and raced toward the hummer and RV. Luckily it wasn't far and there were only a few children in between them and safety.

With a final slam of her heavy bar, Parker clipped a pimply twelve year old boy, who fell to the ground. She threw the bar to the ground and jumped into the RV behind Hardison and Eliot and shut the door tight.

"Remind me never to have children." Hardison quipped trying to lighten the mood. Parker dropped onto the couch panting heavily as she gave him an annoyed look.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note:

Life has gotten a bit crazy, but here's the next chapter. I promise this story will get finished, you just have to be patient.

Anyway, you guys are awesome as always.

Read and Review!

Chapter 12:

_8 hours later: _

Parker, Hardison and Eliot all walked silently into the abandoned hospital. Each gripped their own weapon, ready for a zombie at any moment.

The hallways were the exact opposite of what a typical hospital looked like. Normally, everything would be spotless and sanitized daily. The clean white walls would gleam and the pearl floors would shine. What they saw now was completely different. Eliot walked in first, followed by Parker, and Hardison taking up the rear.

Parker jerked her head around as a bedpan fell off of a gurney and onto the floor with a clang. The walls were smeared with bloody handprints and the floors were muddied with shoe prints. Pictures on the wall hung on their sides and everything was a mess.

All three stopped at the end of the hall. Each looked up at the signs. One clearly labeled 'Infectious Disease Unit' with an arrow pointing to the left. The other hanging loosely toward the right stated, 'Oncology'.

Eliot glanced down the hallway toward the infectious diseases unit. "So, I say this way."

Hardison shook his head. "No, Adam Whitley was an Oncologist. His office would be down this way."

Parker looked both ways unsure. "Maybe we split up." She offered.

"Are you kidding me? We are in a freaking hospital. This is zombie central!" Hardison guffawed looking in disbelief from Parker to Eliot, then back to Parker again.

Eliot looked over at Parker. She knew that he was still somewhat irritated with her, but it hadn't stopped them from getting the job done in the past.

"Parker is right." He said with a tone that signified there would be no more argument. "I will go this way." He pointed along the corridor toward the infectious diseases unit. "You two go visit his office. If he has a safe, Parker will get it open."

Parker gave him a stern look knowing that he was heading into the more dangerous area of the hospital.

"Call over your earbud if you find anything." He called over his shoulder as he jogged off down the hallway. Parker and Hardison watched him go.

"I guess it's just the two of us again." Hardison breathed as they turned their attention to the abandoned hallway.

Light fixtures dangled from the ceiling being held up only by wires as the lights flickered back and forth. Everything was eerie and though she would never admit it, made a chill run down her back.

Hardison looked over at Parker. She was back in her work mode again. All traces and wisps of their relationship gone from her mind as she carefully peered into various rooms. Many dead corpses lay strewn on the ground. The smell made Hardison gag a few times, but he remained resolute and gripped his golf club. Parker held her crossbow in one hand easily ready to lift it up and shoot anything that moved.

"Parker?" Hardison tested.

"Hmm?" She answered as she glanced in another room.

"Last night, I told you that I searched for you." It had been weighing on him the entire 8 hour drive to the hospital. Every time he had mustered the courage to talk about it, he would be interrupted by Chaos who gave example after example of how close their team was. It took everything Hardison had to pretend it didn't eat at him.

Parker didn't respond, but he could tell she heard him. Both came up to two swinging double doors with a flickering light on the top with bold writing that said, 'Oncology Department' and a smaller sign next to the door that stated, 'No Visitors Beyond This Point'. Parker smirked and shoved the door open, crossbow up and ready to fire.

Again nothing. Everything was abandoned. It surprised them because hospitals were always the most dangerous place to be after an outbreak. Everyone was sick and rushing to the hospital. There should have been hordes of zombies lurking around every corner.

"Parker." Hardison repeated, more frustrated now.

"Yes, I heard you." She responded, trying a few locked offices, reading the names on each door along with their specialty underneath.

"And you responded that you knew." He continued. He didn't realize it in the heat of the moment, but the very next morning, the first thing he remembered, after the 'almost kiss' of course, was that she knew he had searched for her.

Parker paused, her shoulders tensing up.

"You knew." Hardison stated more clearly this time.

She stopped in front of a brown door with scratches on the outside. The name 'Adam Whitley' Melanoma and Epidemiology inscribed below his name.

"This is it." She perked up as she pulled out a lock picking kit from one of her jacket pockets. She squatted down almost kneeling as she forced the door open with her thin metal tools.

"Parker." He tried again as she opened the door. He was sure she was avoiding the subject at this point.

"Look at this!" She said amazed as she flicked the light on in the room. Hardison clamped his mouth shut as he walked in and shut the door behind him. Always protect your back; that was his motto.

He was impressed. Everything in the room was in pristine shape. No broken light fixtures, no papers strewn on the ground, no muddy shoe prints. Everything was set up as an office should be except for the fact that this was not just an office. Parker and Hardison both walked over to the back of the room where a ceiling to floor window stood between them and a padded testing room. One their side, it was a regular office with a desk a closed closet and a very expensive computer. On the other side of the window was an abandoned testing area.

"Parker, listen to me!" He almost yelled at her. He knew her well enough to know that her selective hearing always took into effect the moment she didn't want to admit a mistake. This time was different, this time he wanted to hear her say it; hear her say that she was wrong.

Parker whirled around and looked him dead in the eye.

"What?" She asked squarely. He pulled back a little glancing nervously down at the crossbow that she clutched with white knuckles.

"You knew and just left me like that."

Parker kept her eyes narrow, trying to keep her face from showing the regret that she felt.

"Yes, I did." She said through gritted teeth. He looked at her another second.

"How could you do that to us?" His face wavered a little remembering back to the way they used to be.

Parker turned and walked over to the computer and began pressing random strokes on the keyboard.

This lack of response drove Hardison over the edge. He risked everything to save her, spent hundreds and hundreds of hours to search for her, to be with her again and now here she was pretending like nothing happened.

He took two steps forward toward the table where she sat and whipped his arm across the desk sending papers, pens and pencils, and other various items flying to the far wall. They crashed against the closet door and fell to the ground with a crash.

Parker quickly whipped back up into a standing position, both glaring angrily at one other.

"What do you want from me?" She growled. "Yes, I knew you were looking for me. What else is there to know?"

Hardison turned, fists clenching. "Why?"

There was a moment of silence as the question hung in the air.

"Because the Parker you knew is dead."

"That's not true." He said turning back to her. "I know you."

"You knew her." Parker said sitting back down in the chair.

That was all he could take. He took two angry strides over to the doorway into the testing room. He pressed the plastic button that made a loud buzz. A loud click told him that the door was unlocked and he pulled it open wanting to create as much distance from her as possible.

He checked around the padded testing room carefully. Luckily there were no hidden rooms where zombies could escape. This looked like a small and simple area where Adam Whitley could work in peace. He walked over to the small table where he found beakers of different sizes with different contents in each one of them. He kept a careful distance from the open beakers not knowing what was inside and whether they might be contagious.

Parker in the office refused to look at him, water prickling at the edges of her eyelids. She quickly scanned the wall opposite the testing window where Hardison currently resided. The wall she surveyed stood floor to ceiling with bookshelves, all containing books. She glanced over one called '_The Epidermis Revealed'_. She tapped her fingers along the books and felt a few books sticking out further then they should. A very obvious hiding place for a safe, she knew.

She pulled the books off the shelf and onto the floor and smiled as she found it.

"Yes!" She called to no one in particular.

From the testing room, Hardison looked up at Parker whose back was toward him.

After getting a good look at all of the vials knowing that none of them were the right color and vial size he moved over toward the door to head back into the office.

Walking over to the steel door he noticed a keypad against the door. Ignoring it, he tried to pull the door open, it was sealed shut. He smacked his head, knowing that the doctor had created a locked exit in case of an emergency. Hardison felt his IQ drop 20 points. He moved over to the glass window where he watched Parker for a moment. Her slender figure was something he could stare at for hours.

"Parker!" He called, slamming his hand against the window. She didn't budge.

"PARKER!" He tried again, sending both fists against the thick window pane.

_Uh Oh. _He thought to himself. _Sound Proof Windows and Key Pad Exit. And why won't my earbud work?_

He glanced around the room. Was there some sort of electronic barrier that separated this room from the rest? Hardison wasn't sure.

He pounded on the window a few more times before something caught his attention.

Ever so subtly as Parker continued to fiddle with the lock on the safe, the closet door handle a few feet away from a distracted Parker began to turn.

Hardison's eyes widened as he screamed her name again. The handle stopped moving and the closet door gently pushed open.

"PARKER! BEHIND YOU!" Hardison screamed.

_The Infectious Disease Unit: _

Eliot paced along the corridor and into the Infectious Disease Unit which had now expanded into a wing. He carefully tiptoed along hearing voices whispering around the corner.

The closer he got, the more decapitated zombies he found lying on the ground. He could tell these guys knew what they were doing. _Looters._ He thought to himself.

He made his way up to the edge of the wall, just before it opened up into a large gymnasium like facility with plastic covered cubes make-shifted into testing rooms. He glanced around the corner and saw two thugs.

"Parker, do you copy?" He whispered pressing his finger to his earbud.

He heard nothing but static. He tried again, but it was useless. He squinted looking around for any sign of interference, but found none. Cursing to himself, he then leaned in to listen in on their conversation.

"We aren't leaving here until we find it." A bulky man with a bandana wrapped around his forehead demanded. The way he issued orders demanded respect; he seemed to be the ringleader.

"We've been searching for two hours Donny, it's not here." A wiry man with a padded jacket responded, somewhat put out.

"He's offering double the gasoline for this job; we are going to find it." Donny barked at the wiry man.

He heard the second man sigh.

"Move and you are dead." Eliot heard a thick whisper in his ear as a muzzle pressed against the back of his head. Eliot calmly stood erect as the man forced him forward around the corner.

The two men arguing in the center of the Infectious Diseases area both pulled their guns simultaneously.

"Donny, caught him snooping around." The thick man exclaimed.

"Good work Bobby." Donny answered smiling. His teeth were black around the gums, obviously from too much chewing tobacco.

"So, son, what's your name?"

Eliot smirked and rolled his eyes.

The man behind him smacked him behind the head with is pistol. Eliot doubled over reaching for the back of his head.

Donny laughed as Eliot's eyes became dark.

"That wasn't very smart." Eliot finally spoke.

"Really?" Donny laughed.

Without a second of hesitation Eliot whipped around and gripped the pistol behind him. A shot rang out and ricocheted around the room. Both Donny and his sidekick ducked to the ground. The third man behind Eliot didn't get the chance. Eliot quickly grabbed his gun, flinging it across the room. The man's eyes went wide and he yelped in surprise as Eliot grabbed hold of his thick leather jacket.

With anger fueling him, Eliot thrust the man over a gurney and onto the ground. Bobby fell, the sheer weight of him causing the earth to shudder.

"Get him Kenny." Donny yelped.

"Kenny, Bobby and Donny." Eliot laughed out loud. "What a trio."

Kenny growled and lunged for Eliot. Eliot knew the wiry man didn't stand a chance. He was too thin and too rambunctious. The first lunge was a good attempt, but Eliot just sidestepped and sent a fist flying towards his nose. The crunch was heard by everyone as Kenny doubled back in shock. He grabbed for his nose as blood spurted out. He quickly pulled a bandana out of his pocket and wrapped it around the bloodied and broken nose.

Donny was now furious and slowly made his way up to Eliot, pistol in hand. Burly Bobby finally stood up behind him and managed to lumber forward behind Donny.

"That was a big mistake, son." Donny said maniacally to Eliot. Eliot glanced down and around for any available weapons. He didn't see any.

Both Bobby and Kenny attacked, diving forward. Eliot quickly sprung to the side, pulling a gurney out clipping them from beneath. It sent them off balance for a moment, but the burly man quickly recuperated and darted at him again. _Pretty spry for a big guy._ Eliot mused to himself. He grabbed for the IV pole on wheels that would normally hold up bags of blood and prepared for a fight.

Left, right, left, both men lunged at him as he whipped the pole around. He thrust the pole and it flipped Donny's legs from under him as he hit the ground. Bobby charged at him, barreling forward, slamming into him, and taking them both through a plastic self-standing testing cube. Everything clanked and crumbled to the floor as Bobby sent fat fingered fists surging at him. Eliot lost the air in his lungs as a fist slammed into his stomach. Without thinking he quickly flipped to the left avoiding another devastating punch, grabbing for the pole once more. Without another second he whipped the pole around slamming it into this head sending the burly man flying to the floor.

He didn't get a chance to take a breath as a shot rang out. Danny, now giving up on hand-to-hand combat, resorted to the use of his pistol. Eliot quickly lunged behind a gurney, flipping it over to use as a shield. He heard the gunshots sing through the air. One whizzed right by his ear, too close for comfort.

He heard the footsteps move closer and gunshots rang out.

"You can't hide for long." Donny shouted as his voice moved closer and closer. Eliot remained calm, hiding behind the gurney.

Donny's voice was right next to him and he prepared himself for a fight. Just as he spotted Donny's ankle he leapt from behind the gurney onto Donny. Both fell to the floor rolling around, sending punches left and right. Eliot sent an elbow towards his gut, Donny doubling over. Donny shoved a foot to Eliot's knee, causing him to howl in pain. It kept going, both not allowing the other to have the upper hand.

They panted as they shoved and charged at one another. Finally, as both were worn out, Danny lunged one last time with all his might, at Eliot. Eliot, turned, throwing Danny over his back, flying through the air and into another plastic cube a few yards away.

Kenny looked in horror, still clutching his bloodied nose.

Eliot sent a threatening glare at the man who backed up, holding one hand up in fear. Eliot gave a wicked grin and darted out of the infectious disease unit.

From what he'd heard, if they hadn't found it after two hours of searching, he wouldn't find it either.

Eliot raced toward the Oncology Department hoping that Hardison and Parker would have better luck than he was.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note:

This is a short chapter, but the more dangerous (and longer) ones are starting up. There will be more on the line and some of the team may not survive!

Read and Review!

Chapter 13:

_Focus._ Parker spoke to herself resting her ear against the cold safe door. Everything else had to disappear for her to hear the slight clicks in the safe. Each click signified each number in the combination that would unlock the safe door and reveal the second vial.

Hardison watched in horror as the closet door pushed open. How could she not hear it?

His heart raced and his palms were sweaty. Of all things, he had to lock himself in a soundproof room with no escape.

"Think. Think!" He muttered to himself. His eyes perked for a second as he took a speedy step over to the keypad entry. He managed to get his fingernails behind the plastic covering. It was black slick plastic and wasn't difficult to remove. His breathing quickened looking at the circuitry underneath.

"It's simple. Charge the red wire with the green wire and it sends and electrical charge to the door lock and it opens." He spoke to himself. His voice faltered as he glanced through the window one more time.

Parker gave a sigh as she re-spun the knob. It took her more time than usual to get the combination. She was surprised at the fact that Hardison wasn't adding any more comments about their relationship, but she wasn't about to turn around to find out why.

Hardison charged the wires together and the loud sound reverberated letting him know that the door was unlocked. He slammed the door open and not three feet away from Parker was a slimy man hobbling closer. His hair was falling out and he wore a surprisingly clean lab coat.

"Parker!" Hardison yelled. The zombie in white growled leaping for Parker, his oozing hands reaching out for her.

Hardison's heart stopped. Everything in the room slowed down as he mindlessly launched himself forward. Everything disappeared as he tackled the man over the desk. They slammed into the computer and slid across fumbling to the ground.

"Hardison, wha-?" Parker started then leapt backwards in shock.

Hardison fumbled around on the floor, the man clawing every which way. A stinging feeling caught him off guard but as soon as he felt it, the zombie went limp and was quickly jerked off of him.

"Hardison!" Parker breathed as she shoved the limp zombie to the ground a few feet away. Hardison looked over and saw two arrows in his neck as it created a growing pool of brownish-red liquid on the ground.

Immediately, the door flew open and Parker aimed her crossbow. As soon as Eliot came into view, with a wild look in his eye and bloody knuckles, Parker dropped her crossbow to her side and began to help Hardison up.

"What the hell is going on?" Eliot asked, panting heavily. He leaned some of his weight onto the doorframe.

"Hardison, just-" Parker breathed, as she grabbed an arm and began pulling him up. He got to his feet though his body ached. He gave a slight wince, but didn't complain.

"There was a zombie in the closet." Hardison coughed.

"Is everyone okay?" Eliot asked.

"Fine." Parker answered.

"Fine." Hardison coughed.

"We've got looters in the building. They were looking for the vial. Please tell me you have good news." He asked, eyes pleading.

Hardison looked over at her as he surreptitiously zipped up his hoodie.

Parker stood silently for a moment then answered.

"It's not here. The safe is empty." She pointed over to the safe in the wall. The box was empty.

Both Hardison and Eliot cursed.

"Where the hell could it be?" Eliot yelled. Parker took a step back, unsure if he was yelling at her or not. "And why the hell don't our earbuds work?" He looked directly at Hardison.

"Don't ask me." He said holding up his hands. "Those are Chaos's earbuds. Mine were in Big Lucy."

"You said there were looters." Parker piped in leaning back on the desk. "Do you think they got here first?"

Before she could finish the sentence Eliot was already shaking his head. "They couldn't find it either." He sent his fist flying at the wall.

"So it's gone." Parker said angrily, furrowing her brow.

"It's gone." Eliot confirmed.

After a moment of tense silence, Eliot spoke again.

"We need to leave. The looters will probably be coming back with bigger guns."

Before they left they scoured the room for any other hidden entries and anything that could fashion as the vial they were looking for. _Nothing._

_An hour later by the campfire: _

Since they had returned to the RV and driven out of range of the hospital, each of the team argued heatedly over dinner. Parker, Eliot and Hardison took turns in the back of the RV changing out their dirty clothes with new ones. Parker's clothes were clean of zombie blood, but Eliot's had to be placed in a bag to be destroyed. Metal weapons could be cleaned, but clothes seemed to stain permanently with the infected blood.

"What do you mean it wasn't there?" Caroline strained.

"I mean, it wasn't there." Parker responded, getting annoyed after having said it for the third time.

"It can't just be gone." Sophie added, trying to lessen the tension in the camp.

"Am I speaking English?" Parker said sarcastically. "It's g-o-n-e!"

"Well then, someone got to it first." Nate confirmed, rubbing his chin. "And you say that the books were covering the safe when you got there?"

Parker nodded.

"Whoever took the vial obviously wanted it to look like no one had been there. I mean, they even locked the safe. If it were your average looter, like the ones you ran into," Nate motioned to Eliot who leaned against the RV eating his can of beans, "they would have looted and left, they wouldn't have bothered cleaning up after themselves." He paused. "We aren't dealing with looters. These are professionals."

This sent the group into a frenzied chaos. As the members bickered back and forth Parker glanced over at the RV. She hated to admit it, but Hardison had been in there for a while. _I don't care about Hardison. _She told herself. _But he saved your life…again. _She defended._ Ignore it, you have a job, then it's over. You will never see him again._ Her internal battle was almost as bad as the bickering outside. She quickly joined in on the heated conversation as to ignore her feelings.

_In the RV: _

Hardison could hear the mumblings of the group outside, but he remained quiet as he slowly removed the bloody clothes that were pasted to his body. He held his breath as he lifted his shirt over his face and off his head. As he pulled his undershirt up over his head, he sucked in his breath as a stinging sensation gripped his abdomen.

He didn't even stick the undershirt in the plastic bag, he just stood silent in front of the full length mirror. He remained there for what seemed like hours in just his Dr. Who boxers and gazed frozen at his reflection.

There, lengthwise and jagged across his newly made six-pack was the one thing that made his blood run cold; a red slice of his flesh was protruding from his skin.

"I'm…i-i-infected." He breathed numbly.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: 

As promised! Here's a longer chapter.

Thanks for the reviews.

Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 14:

_By the campfire: _

"There was something else." Chaos interrupted causing most of the group to quiet down.

Caroline and Parker continued to bicker, not ready to give up their individual theories or the fact that they were right.

"While you were inside, we couldn't get a signal to contact you."

"Yeah, we couldn't talk to each other either." Eliot added. Parker nodded.

The creaking of the RV door caught Parker's attention as Hardison walked calmly out of the RV with a new long-sleeved polo and some jeans. Her shoulders dropped slightly as he avoided eye contact. She was sure he hated her now.

"That's because we missed something before we went in." Chaos explained.

"And what was that?" Sophie asked haughtily.

"Someone inserted a communication disrupter in the building." He answered, ignoring her.

"What's a communication disrupter?" Caroline asked.

"Basically" Chaos explained, "It stops all short-wave communication frequencies inside the building."

"Why didn't we catch it earlier?" Nate asked.

"Because they are very expensive and I honestly don't know why someone would need it in the building." Chaos postulated.

"Yeah, why would someone need to put something like that in a hospital?" Eliot questioned looking over at Nate.

Nate thought pensively and Sophie shrugged.

"But-" Chaos added. Everyone looked back over at him. "I do have an idea."

"And...What is it?" Caroline chastised.

"Before we left I tried to identify any locations in the area that would use something like this, but I actually found something interesting." Chaos paused for dramatic effect.

"Seriously?" Eliot glared at him impatiently waiting for Chaos to continue. Chaos gave a wicked smile and continued.

"I found a surprisingly strong wifi signal emanating from a building in Juarez."

"Juarez?" Hardison, Parker, Eliot, Nate and Sophie said simultaneously looking at one another in surprise.

Chaos slowly nodded his head glancing from one member to the other, surprised by their outburst.

"Yes. It seems to be a warehouse. Why would a warehouse need its own satellite wifi signal? And moreover, why can't I hack into it?" He asked.

_Six hours later_:

The sky was pitch black and it was close to midnight. The dry heat made the zombie stench rise into the air and become a tangy blanket settling around them.

"It's a what?" Sophie asked in disbelief.

"It's a club." Chaos responded. "It's actually a nightclub."

The group huddled in the RV around the block from the warehouse. Cars were parked all around along with a twenty foot fence covering all sides. They could hear the music reverberate from inside.

"I'll go in for this mission!" Sophie volunteered looking hungrily at Nate.

He shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous. We don't know what we are getting into and the last thing I want is for the ladies in our group to be…"

Like a lightning bolt all three women burst up in a fit of rage.

"Excuse me?" Sophie hissed. Parker clenched her fists, shoulders back ready for a fight. "Are you telling me that you don't think we are able to handle ourselves in there?"

"No. Well, yes, but-" Nate tried, backpedalling as quickly as he could. He realized he had unleashed the dragon.

Eliot grabbed Parker's arm while Hardison put a hand on Sophie's shoulder. Caroline remained silently resistant, enthusiastic only because she was able to be a part of a collective for once.

"I will do what I damned well please." Sophie said angling for the door.

"Look." Nate said. "I'm sorry, but this time there is no negotiation. We have no idea what we are getting into and I need you here to protect the one vial we do have left."

Sophie moved up close to Nate. He sat back a little as her eyes turned into angry slits. "I have been sitting in the damned RV for days now. I need to get out of here!"

"I know." He said rubbing her arm.

"Well, I am going." Parker said, resolutely. The last thing she was going to let happen was to allow Nate to hand out orders telling her where to stay and what to do. That ended years ago and it wasn't about to start up again.

"Parker." Hardison said calmly behind her. "Please, just stay here."

Parker was struck silent. Not by what he said, but by the way he said it. She hadn't heard that tone in such a long time that it actually sent a chill down her spine. Her mind sent her back to the moment that Hardison was buried alive in a coffin. She would never forget that day, and she would never forget how he had sounded.

She turned to look at him in the eye. He was stern.

"Are you okay?" She asked, ready to put her hand up to his forehead. He looked as though he was sweating.

"I'm fine." He warned grabbing her arm and putting it back down to her side. Giving him an odd look, she nodded and remained silent.

"So what you are saying is that the men get to go into the club and party while the women have to stay at home cleaning the RV?" Sophie challenged.

"No, Chaos is staying here too." Nate replied. Chaos looked up surprised not sure if he should be relieved or insulted. "He wouldn't be much use, probably just piss people off."

Chaos made a rude hand gesture but relented.

"So that settles it." Eliot looked unsure around the cramped RV.

"Hardly." Sophie muttered under her breath. The caged animal in her was just racing to get out, to experience human interaction, to be around people that she could con, people she could grift. She kept silent, feeling a strange vibe emanating from the group. Things had become tenser, and she couldn't figure out why.

Parker made her way over to the glove compartment to retrieve the ear buds. She opened the rectangular plastic container and pulled out the first miniature earpiece.

"Don't bother." Chaos interrupted. "They have a disrupter in the club, that won't work."

Caroline shot her head up. "They have a disrupter too? Does that mean that the people who stole the vial could be here?"

"Potentially." Hardison responded, rubbing his neck.

"So let's get in there!" Caroline urged, standing up higher, as if she were about to barge in herself.

"Wow, calm down." Eliot motioned. "We have no idea what we are getting ourselves into, like you said, they are probably professionals. We can't just go in there and expect them to hand it over…hell, who says it's even still here?"

The group remained collectively silent until Hardison shook his head.

"If we go in, I can create a hard connection to their wifi satellite feed directly. That should-"

"Hypothetically" Chaos interrupted, not liking Hardison being the lead hacker again.

"Hypothetically" Hardison emphasized, as he continued, "allow us access to their mainframe and give us some information on who these people are and in what locations they are allowing use of this particular wifi signal within the area."

Eliot threw up his hands, obviously tired of all the tech talk. "Whatever. Let's just get in there."

Parker opened her mouth to say she was going in with our without their consent, but clamped it shut surprised by the hardened look that Hardison sent her.

_An hour later:_

Eliot, Nate and Hardison all fought their way up to the high fencing around the club. Zombies were everywhere. They hacked and sliced their way to the main entrance.

"Password." The muscled man at the entrance barked.

"You could at least let us in first." Eliot responded, already itching to take this guy out.

"Password." The man repeated. It was dark but the half moon scar down his left eye all the way to the top of his lip made him look twice as menacing. The man obviously had no regard for the survival of the non-infected, and would probably watch them die just as soon as look at them.

Nate smiled and held up a five gallon jug of gasoline. Sophie and Parker had particularly protested when he took the jug with him, knowing that they were running far too low to be giving their prized gasoline away.

The man nodded as Eliot sliced an oncoming zombie. Scarface, as Eliot had just then decided to call him, opened the gate and let them pass.

"Drop your weapons at the door." He ordered as they filed inside, walking along the pathway leading into the main entranceway of the warehouse. The music thumped harder and Eliot could feel the reverberation in his bones.

The three decided it best that they don't all barge in together, so Eliot and Hardison decided to go in first, followed by Nate about five minutes later. It unnerved Nate to know that Sophie wasn't in his ear buzzing about being safe. He had almost gotten used to her being there to support him no matter where he was. Nate hung back around the back end of the warehouse, watching as zombies ran up against the fencing failing to climb up. Some zombies managed to get a good portion of the way up, only to be gutted by the barbs catching at their skin, holding them back. Nate shuddered and looked at his watch waiting to make his entrance.

"Are you okay, man?" Eliot asked, craning his neck to get a better look at Hardison. "Why the hell are you wearing a hoodie, it's like a million degrees out here."

"I'm fine. Mind your own business." Hardison growled.

Eliot's stunned face quickly subsided, his mindset reverting back to Hardison the enemy. It hadn't previously occurred to him, but Hardison and he hadn't actually spoken to one another one-on-one in over five years.

"Wow, the zombie apocalypse has turned you into an asshole." Eliot said with a straight face as they entered the warehouse.

The truth was Hardison felt himself becoming increasingly agitated. Everything was hotter, sweatier and itchier. It took all his strength not to scratch his skin until it bled. Hardison bit his tongue, fighting the urge to let his temper roar.

"Well, I'm not the only one that's changed." Hardison said through gritted teeth.

Both Hardison and Eliot handed their weapons to the bouncers as they entered the warehouse. The warehouse was actually a lot smaller on the inside. It looked subdivided. The public was allowed in the main part of the club, while a few doors led to back rooms. The main area acted as a bar, a dance area and seating. Eliot was sure that the club also doubled for a hotel for those who had the gas or food to pay for it.

The music died down a bit as they walked in, but they still had to shout to hear one another. Both walked carefully over to the bar. The locals sent sidelong glances over to them, some in curiosity, others' sitting tense in their booths.

Eliot surveyed the area as Hardison called the barkeep over. Eliot noticed a lack of women in the room, now appreciating Nate's hesitation to bring them in. He suspected that women who couldn't defend themselves would stand little chance to the burly and domineering men that occupied this warehouse.

"What is this place?" Hardison yelled to the man standing behind the counter.

The long somewhat slender man set two drinks out for them. Eliot and Hardison looked suspiciously at the murky substance in the glass. Eliot couldn't decipher whether it was seawater or a pathetic attempt at making homemade alcohol; either way he wasn't about to test it.

Hardison on the other hand quickly took a long gulp, appreciating anything to drink. His body was dehydrated. Eliot gave him a careful look.

The barman remained silent for a moment, watching Hardison, and then responded. "It's a club for what's left of us humans."

_Obvious._ Eliot thought.

"What's your story?" The bartender asked, handing Hardison another drink.

"Heading to California. Heard there was an infection free zone in the Rockies." Eliot responded.

The bartender chuckled amused, and eyed Hardison chugging the second glass. Something across the room caught the bartender's attention and Eliot followed his line of sight past the dance floor where there was a lack of dancers, and on toward the doorway where Nate walked nonchalantly into the warehouse.

"What do you know, three strangers in one night?" The bartender said calmly as if trying hint at the oddity.

Eliot was nervous. Everything seemed to become tense in the room. It was almost as if the room was in on a secret that had yet to be revealed to them.

Hardison not picking up on the tense energy and starting to slur his words asked if he could use their restroom. The bartender sent him in the direction of the bathrooms diagonally against the newly built walls across the warehouse.

Eliot remained calm, continuing to observe his surroundings. He knew Hardison was headed to the back to attempt to connect to the satellite signal through an internal mainframe. The only question was; would Hardison be able to do it without whomever these people were noticing their sinister plan.

Nate slowly worked his way around the room, being careful not to make eye contact with Eliot. The plan was to remain as non-threatening as possible and leave without any disturbances. He sat on the far end at a booth, alone.

Three men came up to him, filling the remaining three seats of his booth, while others looked on carefully sipping from their drinks in their own respective areas of the club.

"What are you doing here friend?" One of the men leaned in towards him giving Nate a good look at his dark eyes.

"Just looking for a place to crash for the night." Nate responded confidently. "I'm not here to cause any trouble."

The man with the dark eyes nodded, considering what to say next. "No trouble?"

Nate nodded. He caught Eliot looking uncomfortably over at him, then quickly glanced away to focus on the bar.

"Then why" the man with dark eyes began as he pulled out a sheet of paper, "are you on our boss's most wanted list?"

Nate was bewildered. He was on a wanted list? He couldn't believe it. In zombie apocalyptic America he was still fighting the law.

"What are we in the wild west?" Nate joked, but the men weren't laughing.

Everything happened all at once and was more a reaction than a predetermined attempt to escape.

"Intruder!" A man yelled from the back of the club. The man shoved a weak but defiant Hardison out of a back room. The twenty or so men in the club all jumped to their feet, Eliot included. "He was doing something to our computer!"

Nate knew everything would go south very quickly and they needed to get out. Without thinking he shoved the man sitting next to him out of the booth and onto the floor. The man yelped in surprise.

All three men were shoved into the middle of the dance stage as they were surrounded by dark and threatening thugs punching their fists ready for a fight.

Eliot was ready, excited about the opportunity to dismantle a few more ignorant brutes. Nate was cautious but still ready. He looked over at Hardison who was looking worse. The sweat dripped down the side of his face and he leaned off to the side a bit, almost unable to hold his balance.

"Bring it on." Eliot almost whispered, motioning the men in front of him forward.

On all sides, men began to move in. Eliot took the first step out sidestepping a fist being thrust in his direction as he pulled the man in and propelled his knee into the man's gut. The man doubled over in pain, with a groan. Two other men darted at him. He sent a roundhouse kick and the first man doubled in pain. Eliot then grabbed the other by the neck and rushing him over the bar. The bartender who had remained in the back leapt out of the way as glasses crashed to the floor. Eliot hearing shouts of anger behind him jumped up onto the bar, quickly glancing over to his friends. Nate was holding his own sending a punch here and a kick there. Hardison on the other hand was having a bit more trouble. He managed to send a punch toward one of the oncoming men, but it wasn't strong enough to inflict any real damage and was returned by a slam into Hardison's stomach. Hardison yelled and fell to the floor writhing in pain. Eliot looked at him concerned, surprised at how fast he went down.

Eliot braced as a fat man managed to clamber onto the bar and charge at him. The fat man was obviously more brut than brains because Eliot merely slid off the side of the bar onto the floor as the fat man toppled over the side crashing into a few barstools on his way down. Eliot smirked and raced over to help Hardison.

The fight continued until most of the men were wheezing in pain. Eliot and Nate were fairly upright; though Eliot was sure they couldn't take much more before their own bodies gave out. That's when he heard it.

"Very good, Eliot Spencer. Your form has improved." Time froze and the thick Hebrew accent hung in the air.

"Mikel Diane." Eliot whispered turning around slowly taking in the dangerous, yet feminine form of the Ex-Mossad beauty from his past.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: 

So there is some debate as to how to spell Mikel Dayan's name. On imdb it says Raquel Dayan and other sources say Mikel Diane. Does anyone know her official name? For this fic I think I will go with Mikel Dayan.

Anyway, thanks for your reviews. Everything is building. Things are becoming more dangerous. Hardison is infected, the group is nowhere near a cure and now who shows up? None other than Eliot's killer competition. Can it get any worse?...yes, yes I believe it can. ;-)

Please read and review.

Chapter 15:

"They've been in there too long." Parker flared as she paced back and forth across the narrow patch of carpet in the RV.

"Parker, be patient. They know what they are doing." Sophie emphasized, worried that Parker might create a hole in the floor.

Chaos rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He wasn't about to start another verbal boxing match with Sophie, especially if Nate wasn't here to hold her back.

"They haven't even established the hardline internet connection yet. That should have happened…" Parker glanced down at her watch, "twelve minutes ago!"

"Just give it time." Sophie calmed. It annoyed her that Parker was the one freaking out about the guys survival. Wasn't she the one that was ready to kill Nate and abandon their chance to cure the infection?

Caroline managed to hide behind her book yet again. Parker's eyes were wide and her lips were sealed. She continued to pace as Sophie rubbed the bridge of her nose, saying a silent prayer for the guys inside.

_In the warehouse:_

"Very good, Eliot Spencer. Your form has improved." Time froze and the thick Hebrew accent hung in the air.

"Mikel Dayan." Eliot whispered turning around slowly taking in the dangerous, yet feminine form of the Ex-Mossad operative from his past.

Eliot looked out of the corner of his eye to the men on the floor who squirmed to the outer edges of the club. They were obviously familiar with the femme fatale and quickly faded into the background. The lights were still dim, but Eliot was able to get a good look at her. Her hair was still thick and dark, her skin smooth and her eyes, still dangerous and unforgiving. She looked just like he remembered during their wrestling match years ago, but her style was more ruthless, he could tell. He was brought back to the present as he saw Nate help Hardison up off the floor.

Even at a sideways glance, Hardison looked ashen and weak. His usual jovial demeanor was nowhere to be found. Nate gave Eliot a simple nod to signify that both were okay and pulled Hardison off to the side. Eliot turned his attention back to Mikel Dayan.

She snapped her fingers and one of the men behind her quickly went to help her remove her leather jacket. She didn't drop eye contact and a daring smile played at the corner of her lips. Eliot could see it in her eyes; she was anticipating a fight.

"Do you need some water, Eliot?" She asked politely. Her faded black tank-top fit snugly around her curves, and her dirt covered jeans appeared to have witnessed many battles.

"No." He answered, not allowing her an inch.

"Do you need a break?" She offered, her dark eyes now raking up and down his masculine form.

Eliot said nothing.

She took a few steps forward into the center of the dance floor. They circled one another in silence, each observing potential strategies.

"I hope that the infected have given you an opportunity to practice your fighting skills." She remarked. Eliot smiled inwardly at her tone; always testing, always challenging him.

"I'm not the one that needed to practice. From what I remember, you were the one that ended up handcuffed, not me." Eliot heard a few men suck in their breath. He couldn't believe the effect she had on them. She sent every single one of them into submission.

"You want to bring up the handcuffs?" Mikel responded, her eyebrow raised.

Eliot gave a challenging grin, but didn't answer.

Finally both stopped, ready for combat. Eliot motioned her forward.

It had been a while since Eliot fought someone as experienced as himself, so it caught him off guard when her fist appeared in front of him like a lightning bolt. He barely had the chance to duck to the side. She threw one rapid strike after the other not giving him a chance to counter. The third misdirect sent a blow straight across his jaw. He doubled back, grabbing his cheek. He tasted the bitterness of his blood on his inner lip.

Mikel halted briefly almost surprised at his reaction. She hadn't expected him to go down so easily. Her mind raced. Was it a ploy?

Eliot looked up at her and gave her a wicked, intoxicating smile. "I never hit a woman…unless she hits me first." He said.

Relief and anticipation gripped her. Everything else in the room was gone, just the two of them. No mercy.

He took a few steps forward and she sent her fist flying through the air once more. This time though, he grabbed her wrist, guiding her down to her knees. As she dropped to the floor, she deviously spun underneath, pulling his arm behind him, and standing up. She was now holding his arm, her body now against his back, she whispered in his ear.

"Now this I remember." She murmured seductively. He shivered at the breath he felt against the outer rim of his ear. His blood ran cold, but his body was on fire.

Everyone watched in awe, mesmerized by their movements. It was almost like a dance that no one but the other could match.

"What are you doing here?" Eliot asked between a roundhouse kick and a punch.

"I'm here to bring you and your friends in." She responded as he elbowed her in the gut. She heaved catching her breath. Her head whipped up, giving him an angry and evil glare.

"Bring us where?" He asked as she head-butted him, sending him fumbling backwards.

"To my boss."

"Marcus Starke?" Eliot asked in disbelief.

Mikel laughed, but it quickly turned into a fit of coughs as she recovered from Eliot's blow to her chest.

"Of course not." She responded as she sideswiped him. "He was one of the first to be infected."

He quickly shoved her away, both panting heavily.

Hardison and Nate sat by the bar carefully surveying the situation. Nate kept glancing at his watch knowing that the women in the RV would soon barge in, in an attempt to rescue them.

Not fifteen feet away from Nate and Hardison was the man who had previously ambushed Nate in the booth with Nate's wanted poster. After being miserably defeated by Eliot, he wasn't about to lose his opportunity to get Nate's bounty. Ever so slowly he reached his arm into his coat pocket, feeling the slick metal, fiddling with the safety lock.

Hardison leaned up against the table. His body ached and he could feel the infection spreading. It was the strangest most painful feeling. The infection was making his mind slow and his body drain.

He leaned his head on his hand, which was propped lackadaisically against the bar. He no longer cared to watch the fight between Eliot and Mikel, and now glanced off in the distance, knowing that sooner rather than later, he would have to leave his friends for good.

Hardison watched as the man down the bar reached his hand into his coat pocket. His mind felt drowsy and he didn't think twice about it. As soon as the gun appeared and was lifted aiming directly at Nate, Hardison's eyes went wide.

"NATE, look out!"

At that moment the shot rang out, slicing through the air as it raced toward the back of Nate's head.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: 

All I have to say today is that I love you guys! Hope you enjoy Halloween!

Chapter 16:

Even from a few blocks away Caroline and the rest of the group could hear the gunshots ring through the air. Both Parker and Sophie jumped up to their feet, panic causing their faces to go white.

Sophie's body went into overdrive, guilt seeping through her pores wishing she had encouraged Parker to go in to backup the team earlier. Now it might be too late. _Don't be dead. Don't be dead._ She chanted to herself.

"I'm going." Parker yelled. Chaos tried to grab her arm but she whipped it out of his grasp. He quickly retracted nursing his recovering hands. The burns were still tender.

"Just think about this." Chaos cautioned holding up a hand. "If they are outnumbered in there, would it help if we go barging in there? We would be easy targets. Think about it logically for a second."

"I'm done thinking. I'm going in, and you are not going to stop me." Parker spat out. She had reached her limit. Throughout her life, action and precision where her gifts, but lately she felt as if those feelings were taking a backseat to fear and caution. She wouldn't let her talents go to waste, especially if they could save her friends. The image of Hardison, Eliot and Nate bloodied and motionless on the floor sent her charging toward the door and out to the hummer.

The night was dark and the air was dry. Zombies were lurking, but they had since gravitated toward the noise. Initially, the idea was that the guys would go in without a vehicle to remain less threatening, but now, it was time for Parker to be the threat.

Sophie raced out behind her just as she was about to close the door.

"Parker-" Sophie's face seemed tortured, like she wanted to say something, but instead she took a deep breath, "be careful."

Parker nodded, pulled the door shut, revved the engine and sped around the corner.

Sophie stormed back into the RV feeling helpless and anxious.

"You little bugger. You are an infamous hacker and you can't get into their system?" Sophie shrieked. She grabbed his computer and flung it against the wall. Caroline jumped out of the way, face frozen as she glued herself to the furthest corner of the RV.

Chaos flew to his feet in shock. The crash shook him hard. It was as if she had just thrown his newborn child against the wall.

"Excuse me? You, the ultimate damsel in distress, are talking to me about being a productive member of this team? Please, tell me what you've done to help, besides sit on your ass and cry about how grifters suck? Please, enlighten me." Chaos retorted. His hands shook with rage and his eyes were on fire.

It was like he had handed her another bomb. Except this time, she would be the one exploding. The room was silent. Caroline was moments from darting out the door to chance her luck with the zombies rather than experience the atomic explosion that was about to take place in the RV.

Sophie's mind raced. Chaos, the most self-centered, evil, pathetic, annoying and deceitful bastard she'd ever known touched on the one weakness she had. Being useless.

Before the incident five years ago, she never needed to be rescued. She would always be the one doing the rescuing. Her cunning wit and keen intellect would get herself and the team out of so many tight jams that she had proven her talent and value beyond a shadow of a doubt. Then the kidnapping happened, and something was taken away from her; something that had once made her dangerous. The fear seeped in and she wasn't able to do what she once could.

"You little bastard." She slapped him hard across the face. It was more out of sheer anger that he was right, but the insult stung equally as bad.

"That's what I thought." He responded ruefully, fury still in his eyes. "Believe me when I say this." Chaos continued, slowly and with anger and purpose. "You are a waste, and we are better off without you."

The statement wasn't long and was not loud, but it cut Sophie straight to the bone. Caroline's eyes were wide and uneasy. Her heart gave a thump wondering who this person was. He was definitely not the man she flirted with in the Coaches office, this was someone dark.

_In the Hummer:_

Parker swerved the hummer around multiple corners cursing that they had parked so far away. She glided onto the road that headed straight for the main gate. Bumps where barely noticeable as she was flying down the road at the speed of light. She could see the barbs catching zombies on the fence, and she spotted a muscular man still standing guard outside.

The strongly built man at the gate looked directly at her vehicle, and that's when the vengeful smile grew on her face. Her pent up fury travelled through her veins and out of her foot as she slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The tires squealed and the engine propelled the hummer forward at light speed. The man hollered and abruptly flung himself out of the way in between two dark cars nearby.

Parker held the wheel tight as she was now seconds away. Her body tensed as she prepared for impact.

_CRASH!_

The truck slammed through the metal fencing, flinging the gate to the side toppling over a truck two rows away. Adrenaline kicked into overdrive as she slammed on her breaks crashing to a halt through the warehouse entrance.

_In the Warehouse:_

Nate felt himself being shoved to the ground by Hardison's dark figure. He heard a whizzing noise fly by his ear and then his body collided with the floor. The cold cement was unforgiving and he felt his body crack.

Everyone in the club jumped to alert and shots rang out in every which direction.

Eliot and Mikel, mid-fight were both caught off guard by the distraction. A shot aimed at Mikel caused Eliot to leap into action, shoving her out of the way. She flew to the floor as a stinging sensation pierced Eliot's calf.

Eliot sucked in his breath in pain as he dropped to the floor. He covered his head with his arms, aware that he was currently the most vulnerable at the center of the dark and dangerous warehouse. It was hard to see the other men who shot their weapons, hiding on the outskirts of the dance floor.

The warehouse was in total chaos. Eliot chastised himself for thinking that everyone would willingly turn in their weapons before entering the club. It seemed that himself, Nate and Hardison were the only idiots to hand over their defenses.

Nate looked over at Hardison. He wasn't moving. His body sprawled uncharacteristically sideways on the floor and sweat was dripping off of him by the bucket load.

"Hardison." Nate bellowed over the gunshots.

There was no response. Hardison lay silent and motionless on the floor.

Nate's heart pumped not only from the near loss of his life, but now for the fear that Hardison may have taken a bullet for him. _Don't be dead. Please, don't be dead._

He didn't have a chance to check, when he heard a loud noise from outside and then without warning a stampeding hummer screeched to a halt at the entrance of the warehouse.

All the guns pointed directly at the hummer, waiting for the impending shoot-out.

Hardison continued to lay unconscious on the floor as Eliot looked up to see Parker's concerned face looking down at him through the front windshield.

Parker got out of the vehicle like one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Her eyes were focused and her body was in control. Eliot was sure that in another life, if Mikel Dayan hadn't been the one to take control of this club, Parker would have no problem doing so singlehandedly.

Most of the men in the room looked at her with lustful eyes, while others were prepared to shoot.

Parker reached into the vehicle and then pulled out her automatic shotgun, aiming it in different directions as she kneeled down next to Eliot.

"You okay?" She asked, as she continued to glance around.

She then quickly glanced to his leg and noticed a pool of blood forming at the base of his jeans.

He nodded.

"If anyone thinks about moving, I will kill you."

She stepped over toward Nate and Hardison. Her fingers clenched around the gun when she saw that Hardison wasn't moving.

"I'm sorry Parker. I didn't want it to come to this." A female voice said behind her.

Parker whipped around, her gun aimed at the dark haired woman next to her hummer. Parker recognized her as Mikel Dayan.

Before Parker had the chance, a shot rang out and she felt something puncture her stomach. She looked down and grabbed the tranquilizer dart that had passed through her shirt and was now sending the incapacitating venom through her veins.

Parker felt her arms grow heavy. It became impossible to hold the gun any longer. The weight grew and grew until the gun fell to her side and slipped out of her finger. Eliot caught it as it fell to the floor. Parker felt herself become woozy and the nausea took over. Everything began to spin out of control. Eliot blurred into two different people and then three, and then her eyes became heavy, drawing forcefully to a close.

Nate darted in horror to catch Parker before she fell to the floor. As soon as he caught her, he felt a stinging sensation on his leg. He dropped to the ground with Parker in his arms.

"You are pathetic." Eliot sneered at Mikel. "Can't win a fight anymore, have to play dirty."

He saw a flash of anger play across Mikel's face. "Because you saved my life, I will not punish you for that." She said in her thick Hebrew accent. "I am a retrieval specialist, and I get what I come for."

Eliot lifted the gun and aimed it directly at her. She smirked, knowing that he would not take the shot, then pulled the trigger releasing the tranquilizing dart as it sped in the direction of Eliot's shoulder.

It hit right on target and she watched him slowly fall unconscious. His words stung, but this was her job. She was sure that he would feel no regret in killing her if their roles were reversed. They were rivals, enemies. There was no room for emotion, not now, not anymore.

Mikel snapped her fingers and her goons stood to attention.

"Let's go." She barked and the two men along with a few others (who wanted some profit for the capture of Nathan Ford) who quickly gathered the unconscious figures and left the warehouse.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note:

Thanks for the reviews! Next chapter is a long one.

Koxie: What a big mess right? I love that the group of underdogs now have to rescue everyone. It makes me very happy!

Zippy Zany: Thanks for reading. I'm glad you are enjoying it. There will be a happy ending, I just can't promise that there will be a happy ending for everyone. I thought about getting the world involved, because I would have loved to have a round the world zombie fic, but I have no idea how they would get to all these different places and countries and this just makes it more fast paced. Good catch though.

Blackspots and Wolfofsheep: You rock. Thanks for your continued reviews.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 17<span>:

"_Just because we are…ugh!...this," she motioned her hand between herself and Hardison, " doesn't mean you have any say in what I do or don't do." Parker retorted, storming around the back end of the couch. _

"_I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just asking you to listen to me for once in your life." He sent back to her in icy tones, his frustration finally pouring over the edges of their 'non-relationship'. _

"_What is this really about?" She argued mere inches away from him. _

"_He's up to something. Something bad, and you, just like every other damned day of the year, follow him blindly." His chest heaved deeply as he clutched the back of the leather couch trying to control his temper. _

"_No." Parker hissed taking two paces up to him, stabbing him in the chest with her index finger. "You are jealous and want to be in control." _

"_What the hell are you talking about?" Hardison exasperated flung his arms in the air. _

"_Sophie is gone. Our Sophie! And this is how we are going to get her back. Nate is family. Why can't you just follow his orders just this once?"_

"_Because something is not right! Trust ME Parker." _

_Parker stood silently, her body tense. This was by far the worst fight they had experience to date. Parker had always managed to escape before Hardison broached two of her least favorite subjects, problems either revolving around their unorthodox family or their 'relationship'. _

"_I trust Nate. It's time you do the same. After tonight we will have Sophie back and everything will be okay." She confirmed, trying to convince herself more than anything. _

"_So that's how it is?" He said coldly. His body was in turmoil. Even after all they had been through together, she would still pick Nate's fatherly orders over his loving support. He wondered if it was too late for them. _

"_I'm going in with our team. You are welcome to stay here." She said as she walked with purpose over to the front door. _

"_You know I won't do that." Hardison said quietly staring intently at the back of her head as she paused at the door. _

_Her fingers clung to the cold handle. She didn't budge. _

_Hardison continued. "I will always be there for you." _

"_I'm not the one that you need to be there for." She responded as she turned the doorknob and pulled the door open. _

_Hardison felt the sting of her words like a sword through his chest. His body slumped in despair. He worked so hard to build up a secure trusting relationship between the two, and he thought he had made it, but now, seeing how quickly she fled to the blinded leader of theirs, he knew, that she was far from every truly trusting and loving him. His heart slowly cracked. _

"_Alec." She said gently as she turned to look back at him from the doorway. "It will be okay. You'll see." _

"_Parker." He said painfully. "Just... I lov-"._

_Parker didn't smile, but her face softened. "Tell me tomorrow, after we get Sophie back." _

_With that she closed the door and disappeared into the night. _

Parker's mind was heavy. Her face was screwed into a painful grimace as the memory of Hardison and her final conversation before the disintegration of the team took place. It was horrible and painful and she still remembered it as one of the most heart wrenching experience of her life.

The memory grew hazier as reality lifted her from her foggy memories. Before her eyes were even open, she heard the sound of dripping water echoing off of what she could only guess were cement walls.

Her body was aching, but she could feel the cold cement floor against her palms. She instinctively pulled her hand up to her head feeling the bump that caused her brain to pound. Sitting up, she slowly opened her eyes. They felt almost glued together and the minute she opened them they burned. She blinked a few times before anything came into focus.

Finally as the area swam into view she found herself sitting in the center of a square room, each wall made of cement. Rectangular columns lined the center areas as the expanse of the room was quite large. The dripping came from a small barred window about two feet wide and one foot tall at the top edge on the far side of the cement room.

Parker pulled herself to her feet and brushed off her clothes. Her leather jacket was gone, but she was still wearing her jeans and long sleeve shirt. She walked over to the small barred opening as she recounted the last things she remembered.

"Eliot shot in the leg, Nate on the floor, Hardison on the floor, gunshots, tranquilizers…Mikel Dayan." She continued with her verbal narration of the events. She closed in on the barred window and stood on her tiptoes to get a good look.

"WOOF!" Out of nowhere, a vicious dog slammed itself up against the bars making them shake and grind against the cement.

"WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!"

Parker flew back falling to the floor. Within seconds there were multiple dogs barreling at the barred window with razor sharp teeth and a wild fierce look in their eyes. They gnawed at the bars with a violent need to blast through and rip her to pieces.

Parker was amazed. She had heard that there were people who caged infected pets and animals, but had never actually seen any of them. She stood up and observed the small barred window. She watched as the Rottweiler's, Doberman's and Pitbull's saliva oozed down from their wild jaws.

"Stay away from them!"

Parker was so surprised by the voice behind her that she almost flew back with the dogs.

"Who's there?" She asked as she backed up against a wall, cautiously surveying the room. Parker's instinct was to grab a weapon, but her reflexes were disappointed when she realized that she was stripped of her weapons.

"The closer you get to the window the more carnivorous the dogs get for the scent of your blood. Stay as far away from the window as possible." The voice was rickety, and Parker deduced that the voice belonged to an elderly gentleman.

Parker listened intently, triangulating where the voice was coming from. Thus far, she had seen no one and reprimanded herself for not securing or inspecting the location before going straight toward the window. _Maybe the bump on my head was worse that I thought._

"Show yourself." Parker commanded the mysterious elderly figure.

"No. I won't fall for it." The elderly voice creaked with a worn air of defiance. No sooner had he finished the sentence when the voice erupted into a fit of hacking coughs. They seemed to last forever.

Parker laughed inwardly. This poor man was obviously delusional to think that he could stay disguised and hidden from her. She was human camouflage; she was familiar with all the tricks in the book. This old man didn't stand a chance.

"So who are you?" She asked lightly, now staring directly at the hunched over man hacking and coughing behind the far cement column.

"Stay away from me! I don't know anything!" He yelled, backing himself up, half looking behind to keep steady, and half holding his arms protectively in an effort to guard himself from Parker.

"I'm not going to hurt you." She said, almost in laughter. The elderly man was balding on the top with white tufts of hair around the sides of his head. The tufts were pasted behind his ears, greasy and grimy.

"Suuuuure." The elderly man mocked. "Beating an old man within an inch of his life didn't work so you are going to try the friendly approach now." His face was cynical as he continued to back away from Parker. She continued to follow him. She smiled inwardly knowing that he would give up and stop eventually.

"Who are you?" She asked. "You smell really bad."

The elderly man's face lit up in offense. "If this is how you plan to get me to tell you what I don't know, you have another thing coming."

Parker looked at him quizzically.

"Insults will get you nowhere." He added, trying to clarify.

Parker shrugged.

"Where are we?"

"You are asking me where we are? Does it look like I am in control here?" His voice was high pitched and he was obviously now less suspicious and more defensive.

"I'm Parker." Parker said nonchalantly as she walked up to the iron door. She banged on the door, but it only made a few gentle thuds before she knew that exit was useless.

"What's a Parker?" The man asked, now trying his hand at being rude.

Parker didn't notice as she paced the room.

"Who are you?" She asked again, paying little attention to the man hobbling behind her in curiosity.

"Like you don't know!" He said with as much disrespect as he could muster.

Parker rolled her eyes and abruptly stopped and turned around causing the old man to skid to a halt mid-stride.

"Listen, old man." She said bending a little to look directly in his eyes. "I don't trust you, but right now, I'm going to need your help. I am going to tell you some things and if you ever say a word to anyone, I will find you and cut you into little tiny edible cubes and feed you to those dogs piece by piece through that little window, do you understand me?" Her voice was calm. She did not blink once.

The elderly man stood frozen, and Parker noticed an audible gulp.

"Doctor L-Louis Craver" The elderly man said.

Parker looked at him with a downward eye, sizing his response up, determining whether it was a fabrication or fact. She concluded fact. He looked to fearful to lie.

Parker gave a curt nod and then gave a sweet smile. This did nothing for the doctor's nerves. If anything he seemed more on edge. _She's a lunatic!_ He thought to himself.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note:

Hello again everyone. Hope you enjoy!

Things to come: Sophie finally grifts, zombie Hardison, Chaos has a secret, and the mystery boss revealed!

Please R&R

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><p>Chapter 18:<p>

"So what do we do now?" Caroline asked, biting her lip.

The RV was frozen over in silent rage. Chaos clutched the steering wheel as he sped along the pitch black highway. Sophie sat trembling on the couch. Every bump in the road caused her to look over towards the back of Chaos's head silently accusing him.

"We get the team back." Sophie answered, her eyes glazed over as if she were not paying any attention.

"Well, I got that part." Caroline mocked. "How do we plan to do that?"

Sophie remained silent.

Caroline felt like everything was spinning out of control. What was once a team of seven was now whittled down to only three. The four strongest members of the team, the true fighters were captured and now the second string had to do the rescuing.

_One year ago: _

"_Dad, something is wrong with mom." Caroline's voice faltered as she watched her mother writhe in pain on the floor of their living room. _

"_Mom?" She called out, pulling the phone away from her lips. _

_The thrashing woman paid no attention to her daughter as she clawed and twisted and moaned on the floor. _

"_Honey, listen to me." Her father was always calm, always in control, but something in the sound of his voice made her shake. Was he afraid? "You need to leave the house now." _

"_But mom-?" Caroline started. _

"_NO! You leave alone. There's a gun and a radio transmitter in the basement, you need to grab them and drive to McCrory's Pub in town. Do you hear me?" _

"_I can't leave her!" Caroline whimpered as her mother screeched and moaned. _

"_YOU WILL. I know you can do this. When you get in the car, lock the doors and do not stop for anyone. I don't care if your best friend is screaming for you to open the door, you will not do it."_

"_Dad." Caroline protested in fear. _

"_Sweetie, promise me."_

_Caroline slowly backed away from her mother and clambered down into the basement. _

"_I promise." She answered. _

_She heard her father let out a rickety breath of relief. _

"_I want you to drive to McCrory's Pub and find Nathan Ford. He is the only person you can trust. He will get you to Jimmy and me safely, okay?" _

_Caroline nodded, and mumbled a yes. _

"_Now sweetie," he paused, obviously having difficulty verbalizing the next part. "If Jimmy and I don't make it-"_

"_Dad, please don't say that." Tears were streaming down her face as she held the pump shotgun. The object felt foreign in her hands. _

"_Caroline, listen. This is very important. You are a strong woman. Can you be strong for me?"_

_Caroline nodded again. _

"_If we don't make it, I need you to get our serum."_

_Caroline didn't know what to say. "I'm not strong enough." She whispered. _

_She could tell that her father was crying and it caused her to tremble. _

"_You have your mother's blood in you and she was…is the strongest woman I've ever known. You can do this."_

"_I love you Dad." She cried. Everything in her wanted to leap straight through the phone and into his arms. _

"_I love you to, sweetie. Jimmy and I will see you when you get here."_

"_Okay." She answered firmly. _

"_Don't give up sweetie. You can do this." _

In the RV:

Caroline slowly came back to reality. _Don't give up. You can do this._ They were the last words her father would ever speak to her and they would not be in vain.

Her body stiffened as she quickly spun around looking for something. Sophie ignored her continuing to look forlorn off into space.

'SPLASH!'

"What the bloody hell!" Sophie shrieked as she flew up from the couch. She quickly grabbed onto the couch for stability as the water dripped down her face and onto her burgundy shirt.

"Sophie Deveraux." Caroline said with purpose. "Get your act together!"

Sophie's jaw dropped. She couldn't decide what to yell about first, the water she was drenched in or Caroline's obviously derogatory tone. Chaos looked back in surprise, his face half wide with amusement and the other half wide with fear.

Caroline continued. "You are one of the most amazing and skilled grifter's of all time. This is your family. These people risked their lives to save you. Not me, not Chaos, YOU. Don't you think you owe them a little bit of respect to do the same for them?"

Sophie continued to stand speechless, swaying every so often as Chaos careened around a dead zombie in the road.

Caroline felt reenergized. "You owe them Sophie."

Everyone remained silent for what seemed like an eternity.

"Caroline's right." Sophie said calmly after a moment of quiet reflection. She felt ashamed. Was this how she had appeared to Caroline this entire time? Was she some sort of weakling that couldn't take care of her family? No. The team refused to give up on her, so she would not give up on them.

"Where are we going?" She asked turning to Chaos.

"We are going to get the team back." Chaos answered cryptically.

"And, how by chance would you know where we should be driving?" Caroline asked; now ready to humble his sarcastic demeanor.

"I…have a confession to make." Chaos said carefully as he nervously clutched the wheel a little tighter.

_In the cement room: _

"They're dead." Parker said for the third time.

"No, they aren't! You are trying to trick me. It won't work." His voice trembled, and he looked wildly around the room as if he were being spied upon.

"For the thousandth time, I'm not some spy; a thief, yes, but a spy, no." She sat up a little further trying to drive the point into him through her serious gaze. They now sat across from one another on the opposite side of the room from the dogs. Parker sat against the wall, while the doctor sat knees to his chest against one of the cement columns.

The dogs had quieted down and the trickling water could be heard again. Parker figured that since they had settled, their scent might be less intoxicating to the rabid animals.

"I'm sorry doctor. I can't prove it, but I was there. I watched Jimmy die with my own two eyes." Parker said emphatically.

Dr. Craver turned away with a pained expression as if to shield himself from the reality.

"He was too young." Dr. Craver groaned.

"We have the serum." Parker said after a moment of silence.

The man's face shot up and looked at her in surprise.

"I…don't know what you are talking about." He said carefully. Parker could tell he was tiptoeing around her words, hungry for more information, more validation.

She gave him a little more.

"The one that we have is blue and has some sort of shimmery sparkles inside of it."

She could tell immediately that he recognized it and relief spread over his face.

"Tell me where it is." He said greedily, his eyes begging for the information.

"No. Do you think I'm an idiot?" Parker laughed. "For all I know, you could be the one spying on me."

"That's preposterous." Dr. Craver argued.

Another five minutes of bickering ensued, until the conversation finally turned solemn and serious once more.

"So who is it that is holding us here?" Parker asked curious.

"No idea. There is always someone different questioning me. Once the first person gets tired of questioning me, they bring in someone else to torture me." Dr. Craver reflexively felt a chill ride down his spine thinking of the pain.

Parker decided to change tactics.

"So, why haven't you just answered their questions? If you give into their demands, won't it save you all of this suffering?" Parker asked.

Dr. Craver sat silent for a moment, lips tight as if fighting an internal battle between trusting the strange yet surprisingly comforting Parker, versus assuming he was dealing with a spy. He seemed to make up his mind to choose the former.

"They don't know how to combine the three serums properly and they don't plan to mass produce it." He said confidently. "I heard them talking when they thought I was unconscious. The bastards."

"So what do they plan to do with it?" Parker was intrigued, and a little nervous. If these captors were half as vicious as they sounded, this would be a big obstacle.

"Sell it. They are going to sell it for a price, for those who give them something in return."

"That doesn't make any sense." Parker said.

"The serum has a window of opportunity. The infected whose bodies have already entered phase III and IV, which are skin decay and permanent brain damage, can no longer receive the treatment. However, the serum can impact those who are in the beginning two phases. They will have all the surviving humans running with their children, families and friends to give everything they have for this treatment. These bastards will be the most powerful force in America."

Parker just sat and listened. This was the information they had been waiting for. She unknowingly stumbled upon the key. Now she just needed all three serums. He would know where to find them.

"So we need to find the serums first." Parker said.

"You said you had one." Dr. Craver asked suspiciously.

"I do. But the second one was missing and the third one…we have no idea where to find it. Caroline says she doesn't know, but, I can't tell if she's lying." Parker bit her lip. She watched intently looking for any signs of devious, lying behavior on Dr. Craver's part.

Dr. Craver scratched the top of his bald head. He seemed to revert back into another one of his internal battles. Parker patiently waited.

He hung his head lower in personal defeat.

"I guess I should tell someone. If I die, hope for a better future dies with me."

Parker tried not to get excited, but her body gave her away. She tensed up and her eyes went slightly wider. She grasped at the edges of her shirt waiting in anticipation.

He waited another minute, his mouth bobbing open and shutting quickly, having difficulty saying it. He looked around the room once more and then began to speak.

"The Blackwell Facility." He said almost in a whisper.

"The what facility?" Parker asked. The place didn't sound familiar.

"Blackwell." He said again. "It's an underground facility created many years ago located in the middle of the Nevada desert. At the beginning of the infection they took blood samples down there to find a cure."

"Okay." Parker said encouraging him to continue. She felt a burst of triumph escape her as she inadvertently found the solution to their biggest problem.

"They found one very early on, but it didn't stop the other epidermis mutations or the brain damage it caused. If it's as secret as it was supposed to be, the serum should still be down there in the blood lab."

Parker nodded.

"And the other serum?" Parker asked trying to be patient with her questions, but finding it very difficult.

"The bastards have it here somewhere." He said. "They've asked me about my research and about Harold, and they even questioned me about the third vial, but they never once asked me about the second one. It's here alright."

Parker was now more determined than ever to get out and do some real damage. She had been thinking and worrying about her friends. Why were they not in here with her? Were they being tortured right now?

As if reading her thoughts, both Dr. Craver and she heard a clink sound at the door. Someone was coming in.

Both jumped up. Dr. Craver looked over at her with furious and distraught eyes.

"You liar!" He whispered furiously. "You are a spy."

Parker shook her head as she frantically looked up and backed behind a cement column.

It was Mikel and a few of her goons.

"Dr. Craver and Parker please don't make this difficult."

Both looked at the other behind two separate cement columns. Dr. Craver sneered at her. She rolled her eyes and remained silent.

Parker heard whispers and echoes of feet against the cement flooring.

"What do you want?" Parker called around the side of the cement column.

The cold feeling reminded her of the prison she was in five years ago. She felt isolated and without support.

"You are to speak with my employer." Mikel rasped in her thick Hebrew accent.

"Make me." Parker muttered.

"If we have to." Mikel said lightly. Parker's shoulders tensed up surprised that her voice had carried.

Dr. Craver ran to the back wall as Mikel rounded on the columns. Mikel paid no attention to Dr. Craver's antics, and focused her deep menacing smile on Parker.

Parker shifted her body and prepared to fight. The goons behind her prepared to attack but Mikel held them at bay with a motion of her hand.

Parker smiled and prepared for impact with the femme fatale herself. Both cautiously made their way into an open area.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mikel asked.

Parker didn't smile and remained still.

"How sweet" Mikel said as she circled Parker, "you keep your shoulders tense just like Eliot. That was his weakness too."

Parker ignored her, getting more frustrated. Mikel faced her once more then motioned her forward.

Parker didn't waste any time and flung herself forward, following the precise attack moves Eliot had taught her so long ago.

Mikel grinned and easily deflected the fist. Parker lost her balance but quickly recovered, whipping around in attempt to kick Mikel's legs out from under her.

Mikel calmly avoided Parker's attempts, dodging left, and then with a powerful thrust, she sent her palm into Parker's stomach. Parker flew back to the floor.

Parker's insides screamed as she tried to catch her breath. Everything sat on its end, but she stood back up and attacked. Left, right, left, nothing got past this Hebrew wall. It seemed that everything she tried failed miserably.

With one last attempt she sent all her strength through one fist punch. Mikel was too fast for her. The strong woman caught Parker's arm, stopping her mid thrust then with one motion slammed her fist into Parker's head.

Parker heard Dr. Craver squeal in fear as everything went black.

_Four hours later:_

"I told you to bring her here, not kill her." A muffled voice in the darkness spoke.

Parker felt her wrists heavily duct taped to the arms of the metal chair. Everything was foggy and she was sure at any moment she would vomit.

"I'm sorry, but she was irritating me." Another voiced whispered.

Parker groaned and opened her eyes. The room was dark, a single light shining down on her. In front of her stood a wall of television monitors, each staring blankly back at her. The monitors were all turned off, but Parker counted twelve. Her instinct went straight to security cameras, assuming that they were watching every part of their mysterious and dangerous facility.

"Ahh. You are awake at last." The voice spoke up.

Parker knew that accent from anywhere. The sound his voice felt like ice water being poured down her back. The memories and troubles all flew back to her in one rush as he whispered in her ear.

"How are you Parker? Steal anything lately?" The British accent was sarcastic and sinister.

"I'm going to kill you, Sterling."


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: 

**Haha, it sounds like everyone was waiting for Sterling, and here I thought it would be a surprise. You guys know me too well. ;) **

Hoellenwauwau - I was so surprised when you mentioned Sterling being the boss a few chapters ago. I was like, oh no! Maybe if I don't respond to the comment no one will think that Sterling is the boss and it will end up being a surprise. I guess I was wrong, lol. Nice work!

Zippy Zany - I know that everyone has a soft spot for Sterling now, but he's not always the good guy. Just like Chaos doesn't necessarily have to be a bad guy all the time. I think of them as dynamic characters. That doesn't mean that Sterling doesn't have good qualities, maybe this chapter will explain his motivation a little bit. Sterling is one of my favorite characters though. He's like Nate...evil Nate! :D

Karen Shosocoa - Nice catch! I didn't even think about that when I was writing. But, here is my attempt at explaining why they call it the first, second and third vial. Each vial is a different color. The one they found was blue, the one that they don't have is yellow and the last one is missing. So obviously the last one would be third, because they have to get it last. The other two were discovered at different times. In the next chapters it will become clear why the blue one was the first one they went after. It should come up in the next chapter or the following one!

**Please read and review!**

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 19<em>**

"You did what?" Caroline said aghast.

"Wow, I'm glad I never trusted you." Sophie chuckled. Chaos gave her a snide grimace.

"Do Parker and Eliot know?" Caroline asked. She was surprised and furious that she had any sort of feelings for him.

Chaos gave a sidelong glance, peering off into the distance with a guilty and defiant look on his face.

"Oh, this is rich." Sophie laughed out again. "You work for Sterling."

"I do not work for Jim Sterling! I don't work for anyone." Chaos yelled out, trying desperately to defend himself. "We were contracted out."

"Except, Parker and Eliot had no idea who they were doing this for, did they? Oh, Eliot is going to kill you."

This was the first time Caroline had seen such glee on Sophie's face. She was still in the midst of internally chastising herself for trusting someone who was unintentionally trying to sabotage her mission.

"Hey." Chaos jabbed his finger into Sophie's shoulder trying to drive his point in. "If it weren't for that contract, all of you would be zombies right now."

Sophie quieted down, giving him a reassuring nod, still smirking and chuckling. Chaos let out a loud huff.

"So, for all intents and purposes this is a good thing. Now we have an inside man. We can use you as our way in." Sophie spoke up as she settled down next to Caroline on the couch.

The group was taking a break from driving. Chaos's confession caught the other two women by surprise but now, rather than having no way of getting their friends back, they had a plan of action.

"So Colin, tell us about where they are. How do we get in? And, more importantly, how do we get everyone out?" Caroline asked.

Sophie sat silently staring at Chaos, patiently waiting for his answer. He seemed to have grown more defensive since she had seen him 5 years ago. Every move he made, he felt he had to defend himself. The old Chaos would have had no qualms about making the betraying choices. Was this the same Chaos? Of course she still hated him, and he could still be scheming his way into a double cross, but Sophie was having trouble deciding which side he was on. She shook her head slightly, washing away the internal struggle. She then turned her head to Caroline. The porcelain child who had burst into McCreary's Pub with red puffy cheeks from all of the crying was now a determined woman. Sophie could even see her brows furrowed in concentration waiting for Chaos to respond. Sophie was impressed with the evolution she witnessed. Caroline was ready to barge in, like one of the family. She figured, if Caroline had been on the team back then, she would have come to save Sophie as well. Sophie made a pained face, her mind wandering back to the dark spot in her past. She quickly washed it away, the grifter inside hiding her true emotions.

"I don't know. I've never actually been to the compound."

"What use are you then?" Sophie glared at him.

"Hey." Chaos held his hands up defensively. "Just because I've never been inside the compound doesn't mean that I don't know how to get inside." His tense shoulders and angry wrinkles on his forehead relaxed as his eyes gave a mischievous glint and then a triumphant smirk spread across his features.

The truth was, that Chaos, Parker and Eliot had been running dangerously low on gas and the typical stops were bone dry. Chaos knew the team needed resources. That's when he first communicated with Sterling. Sterling was known for farming out contracts for certain special items, and in return the retriever received priceless resources at their disposal. At first, Sterling refused to give Chaos the details on his highest paying contract. He had just about given up when in their latest communication, he mentioned Parker's name. Sterling was surprisingly interested in his team after that. Once Chaos followed up with Elliot's name, the contract was theirs. Sterling had an unusual amount of faith in his team members. After retrieval, Chaos was supposed to have dropped the vial off a day or so ago at the drop off point. He was certain that Sterling sent out his goons to apprehend Eliot and Parker assuming that they we were planning to use the vial for selfish purposes.

Chaos pulled his laptop into his lap.

"You are very lucky Sophie." Chaos mentioned.

Sophie whipped her head around. "And why is that?" She said sarcastically, tightening her lips into small slits.

"Because, you only managed to crack my laptop screen with your mini temper tantrum earlier. If you were any stronger the data on the laptop would have been ruined."

Sophie rolled her eyes, though internally she let out a breath of relief.

Chaos spent the next few minutes typing feverishly on his laptop. The typing came to a stop and he looked up and smiled at Caroline.

"After my communications with Sterling, I built a sub-routine into their computer system. It allowed me access to their building schematics and internal communication." Chaos spun the computer around to show them.

Caroline made an understanding and studious face, but Chaos could tell she was a little lost. Sophie perked up a little running her finger along the screen. In the middle of the display there was a long clean crack, so certain parts of the blueprint were off center. She ran her finger down one corridor, compensating for the crack on the screen.

"Chaos." Sophie asked devilishly. "Can you make us a bomb?"

_In Sterling's Compound:_

"Hello Parker." Sterling's voice was like licorice; sweet and black.

"Let me out of these restraints so I can rip you to shreds!" She hollered. Her body squirmed and anger boiled over as she tried to pull her wrists as hard as she could through the duct tape restraints. She could feel her raw wrists screaming for her to stop. She ignored it, trying again, pulling harder, certain that she was now about to dislocate her left wrist.

"Don't bother." Mikel said in the background. Mikel was leaning up against a back table observing her fingernails as if she'd seen this struggle far too many times.

Sterling made his way up to her with purpose and poise. He acted the same way Sterling had always acted in the past, but this time, there was something different, something rogue about his demeanor. He kept his restraint, but there were bags under his eyes and a wild look about him. His clothes were the same top quality, but there were wrinkles; something that the old Sterling would never accept. Parker was sure, something had happened to him.

"Why are you doing this?" Parker asked Sterling.

Sterling was about to say something, but was interrupted by Mikel behind her.

"The odds of surviving are in Sterling's favor." Mikel answered, not realizing that Parker hadn't actually asked her.

Sterling gave Mikel an irritated look. He seemed to be more irritated with the interruption than her survival of the fittest attitude. Sterling of all people had to know there was no loyalty anymore. Everything was about supply and demand, survival of the fittest and cleverest.

"I'm glad you asked that Parker." Sterling began. "We will address that soon. First, I would like to speak with you about our contract."

Parker let out a shrill laugh. _Our contract? What kind of mental game is he playing?_ "What contract?"

Sterling gave a knowing smile. Parker looked at him suspiciously, but remained silent. She knew he was going to tell her and she wasn't about to go begging for information from Sterling. She began to feel an unsettling queasiness in the pit of her stomach. She knew she was about to hear something that she wouldn't like.

"Interesting." Sterling said softly, rubbing his chin as if in thought. "I'm surprised that your team member didn't tell you."

Parker's heart quickened as her mind quickly jumped from Eliot to Chaos. She remained still and aloof not visibly giving in to Sterling's taunting. Parker continued to stare forward at the empty glow of the security television screens in front of her.

"I guess Chaos thought it would be better if you didn't know." Sterling mused. She knew he was trying to coax her into an angry rage. Parker had been through enough torture to withstand the test of loyalty. They had all agreed not to trust the other. She repeated this in her mind once again. The internal stinging of betrayal gently pushed against her spine. She repeated it again.

Sterling stared at her carefully. She was like a blank canvas. It never took long for most of his 'interviews' to result in some sort of new information. Many of the people strapped to the chair would begin defiant at the start, and slowly break down as Sterling sliced through their walls into their worst fear. He found that most of the time, torture didn't work. Everyone had been through enough torture with the zombies that emotional torture was the key. Parker on the other hand was a different story. He had to figure out whether the already crazy Parker was now completely devoid of emotion after Nate's betrayal, or more sensitive to it than ever.

Sterling gave her another look and then decided to relax, seeming to change tactics. He pulled up a chair. It scraped against the cement floor and stopped about two feet away from Parker's chair.

"Normally I play with my interviewees. I twist their minds into a state of panic and distress and they always give in."

Parker couldn't help but roll her eyes. Sterling continued, undiscouraged.

"I respect you too much for that." For a split second she could hear the honesty in his voice.

Parker looked over at him, studying his face. _Never trust anyone_, she said to herself and looked back toward the blank security television screens.

Sterling glanced up to Mikel and held his hand up to catch something. Parker heard a light woosh as a remote landed swiftly in his hand. He then aimed it at the security televisions and pressed the power button. Parker remained motionless. An ice queen for all intents and purposes.

The minute he pressed the power button all of the televisions came to life. Every single one let out a static noise with a fuzzy white screen.

Sterling looked down to the remote, paused a moment, then pressed the buttons 23. Immediately, the middle left screen showed a small room. Inside there was no furniture, just padded white walls. It reminded Parker of a mental institution. The white walls weren't quite white though. The black and white camera recording showed discoloration on the walls. Streaks of a darker color. _Was that blood?_

Parker looked carefully. There was no sound, just the room.

Without warning a girl fumbled across the screen to the far wall crashing into it and clawing desperately at it. The girl's hair was falling out on all sides. The long strands of stringy hair that still remained in her head were knotted and gooey. Parker still couldn't see her face, and just observed the girl. Her arms were full of boils, dripping with pus and she dragged her right leg behind her as it decomposed.

The girl made a move and twisted herself around against the wall and slid to the ground. Parker could see that she was moaning, though there was no sound. The girl remained still for a moment. Parker leaned in a little further. Something about this girl looked familiar. Did she know this girl? She couldn't have been more than twenty years old. Parker turned to Sterling in a questioning manner and was caught off guard by what she saw.

Sterling, the fearless, slimiest, most selfish person in the world was staring at the video feed with a painful and sobering expression. It was as if he wanted to jump through the television screen and save her. That's when it hit Parker exactly where she'd seen this girl before.

"Sterling, is that your daughter?"


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's Note:_

Thanks for the reviews everyone! I really appreciate it.

Don't worry, lot's of fighting (for everyone) to come. :)

Please R&R!

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 20<span>:_

"Could you two just shut-up FOR FIVE MINUTES?" Within one sentence his tone transformed from mild irritation to uncontrollable fury.

Both Eliot and Nate, who had been talking feverishly about their escape, looked through the metal bars into the cell next to theirs.

"Are you sure you are okay, man?" Eliot asked carefully.

"I'm fine." Hardison growled as his wild eyes flicked between the two men in the cell next to his.

The truth was, he felt as if he was about to rip the top layer of skin off of his body. Everything was on fire and he wanted to get out; no he needed to. His body was thrusting him forward toward the metal bars that made up the holding cell. The inside of the cell was completely empty so he had nowhere to rest except for the unwelcoming cement floors. He tried to sit down in the beginning, but his body just wouldn't allow it. He barged up to the door and began wrenching it back and forth using every ounce of strength he had. He quickly wiped the sweat off of his forehead onto his damp shirt.

Hardison let out a yell of frustration. He hit the door with his fists multiple times. Every time, slamming them harder into the metal bars. Finally the slamming broke skin and a trickle of blood ran down his wrist. He looked at the blood and everything went sideways. He took a few steps back as the world slanted on its end. He fell to the floor and slowly backed up against a corner seeing spots everywhere.

Even as his body slowly lost control, his heart sobbed. _This can't be happening to me. Not me!_ Then the searing pain took over again. It felt like the nerve endings in his brain were exploding. His prized possession, the only thing that kept him unique; the only thing that kept Hardison, Hardison was exploding from the inside.

Eliot winced a little because the stinging in his leg hadn't gone away. During the firefight at the club he had been shot in the calf. Luckily, sometime between him losing consciousness and now, someone had removed the bullet, bandaged the wound and stopped the bleeding. He took this as a good sign. Whoever has them wouldn't bandage him up just to kill him, right?

Eliot stared at Hardison and then turned back to Nate.

"This isn't good." Eliot warned under his breath. "We've got to get the last two vials. Hardison looks like his finishing stage I. If we don't get it to him soon, he won't make it."

_In the Interrogation Room:_

"Is that your daughter?"

Yes, she remembered Olivia, the chess master, and Sterling's quick witted and cunning daughter. The team had rescued her many years ago.

Parker didn't even need for Sterling to affirm that this was in fact his daughter. She could tell by the way he edged himself forward and clenched his fists.

"I need the cure." He whispered.

Parker turned her head back to the video screen and shook her head.

"Sterling. You know it's too late for her." Her voice was gentle, remembering how careful she had to be around Eliot after the team found out his family was infected. For a full day and a half he was determined to bring them along. It took weeks before he was lifted from his depression and even now he still avoided discussing it.

Parker knew more than anyone that it is an awfully lonely world when you lose your family; when you are alone.

Sterling jumped up from his chair in surprise and horror. The chair screeched backward. This was obviously the wrong thing to say. Parker looked over her shoulder at Mikel. Mikel was shaking her head. It was obvious that Sterling's followers remained complacent, agreeing to live in his fantasy world as long as they got their food, water and gasoline.

His voice was sickly cold. "It is not too late."

She knew what he wanted. He wanted Parker to tell him that everything would be okay, that she was mistaken and once they combined the three cures his daughter would be back, better than new.

Parker was not going to follow his delusions. The sooner he realized this, the sooner the cure could save those who did stand a chance. She couldn't understand why Sterling didn't see this. His daughter's leg was half decomposed. The cure wouldn't grow the leg back. Her brain was probably beyond repair. If by some miracle the cure even managed to work, she would be brain dead.

"Sterling, your daughter is dead."

_SLAM! _

Parker realized a second too late that she had said the wrong thing. Sterling's iron fist whipped across her face. The force of his fist wrenched her entire body to the side. The stinging sensation followed by the blowing pain made Parker's eyes tear up. It was like her entire body was impacted by the blow. Parker licked the inside of her lip and was met with the sweet taste of blood. She felt one of her back teeth loosen. The ringing in her ears finally quieted enough for her to make out sounds again.

She looked up at Sterling. His body was shaking, like it was overheating, ready to explode. His eyes were wild with fury. Even during the days when they had outsmarted him, he managed to keep his cool. Parker expected him to remain calm and collected, but she was wrong. He was an entirely different person; emotional and full of a deep rage and longing for his daughter's safety.

"She is not dead." He spoke slowly.

Parker remained silent. Her head began a low painful throbbing.

"Tell me where the two cures are." Sterling leaned right up to her face. She could feel his breath against her lips. She kept eye contact. _Never show weakness. Never give in. _

Parker was used to torture. She had Nate to thank for that. Over the last five years, everything in life became torture, everything except for her family. Eliot and Chaos.

Sterling would not break her.

"Tell me where it is. Tell me where the vial is that your team has." His British accent demanded an answer.

When she didn't answer he slapped her in the same spot his fist had slammed earlier. She was losing all feeling in her face. Spots began to appear.

She remained silent.

Sterling paced back and forth livid.

"How about the vial that is still missing; I know you know its location."

Parker's shoulders tightened.

"I didn't put you into the room with Dr. Craver randomly. I knew you would get the information."

"I don't know where it is." Parker finally answered.

Another slap to the face.

Parker spat out blood, ignoring the screaming pain. Her cheek was now a fiery red.

Parker looked up at him in irritation, then back at the screen.

Sterling finally paused, his fury settling into a rumbling anger. She could practically see the wheels turning in his brain. He was now calm enough to do what he does best; break his hostage.

"So, since torture and respectfully asking doesn't work, let's try something different."

Parker paused, waiting; tension and apprehension creeping up through her veins.

"Let's play a game."

Parker didn't like the sound of that.

Sterling grabbed the remote again and one more screen came to life.

Parker quickly sat up in her chair, at full alert now. Sterling gave a discreet grin, knowing that he was now properly motivating her.

Parker sat forward as she watched Eliot lean his body against a few of the metal bars for support. He was huddled closely with Nate and they were discussing something. Her body let out an involuntary breath of relief. Eliot and Nate were okay.

She observed the men while Sterling observed her. Eliot had some gauze wrapped around his leg along with a splint keeping it straight. Nate seemed okay.

Parker remained silent. The seed of fear in her stomach began to grow. Whatever the reason Sterling decided to show her this, it wasn't going to be good.

Her mind silently raced as she realized Hardison was nowhere to be seen. Why wasn't he in the same cell? Where was he?

Sterling watched her a moment longer then smiled.

The twisting of her insides were becoming too much for her. What was this silent game he was playing?

Parker glanced back at Mikel. She remained silent and her features remained distant.

After another moment Sterling clicked another button on the remote and a second screen came up.

The blood immediately drained from Parker's body and she sat frozen in place. Her muscles were rigid and her fingertips clutched the edges of the armrest. Her face and her body became numb and her throat was dry. She couldn't tell if the silence in the room was Sterling creating a dramatic moment or herself going momentarily deaf.

She watched as Hardison writhed in pain on the floor of the cell. She could tell he was screaming though there was no sound in this video feed system.

"He's infected." She rasped.

Sterling nodded. His face was serious. He understood what she was feeling, as if the world had just been sucked out of the room and everything stood still.

"It seems that I'm not the only one in need of the cure." Sterling said politely, his tone returning to the slippery, slimy voice from before.

"YOU BASTARD!" Parker screamed. "YOU DID THIS TO HIM!" She desperately tried to free herself from the duct taped bonds.

It was as if Sterling was anticipating this. He was already shaking his head.

"Sorry love, he was already infected before we got him."

Parker shook her head, trying to set everything straight in her mind. Hardison, infected? It couldn't be. She felt like she was hyperventilating and officially going insane.

"So here is what I propose." Sterling started. "You tell me where the third vial is and get me the one you have, and maybe I will give him the cure."

Parker was livid. She knew that Sterling wouldn't wait one second longer than he had to, to give his daughter the cure. He wouldn't wait for it to be properly combined or to have it reproduced, which takes time. If Sterling got all the vials, all of this work would be futile and Hardison would die.

She shook her head, though she wasn't even sure that it actually happened. Her entire body was numb as she continued to stare in horror at the screen in front of her.

"GIVE ME THE LOCATION, NOW!" Sterling screamed at her.

"NO!" She screamed back, her body retching furiously.

"FINE. Then which one of your friends do you want me to kill first?" Sterling asked without remorse.

She looked up at him in shock.

"You get to pick Parker; Nate, Eliot or Hardison."

She couldn't imagine how Sterling could do this to the people that saved his daughter.

"I'm not choosing."

Sterling let out a high pitched laugh.

"Well, then why don't we kill all three? Mikel-" Sterling was about to order her downstairs.

"Nate." Parker answered. She surprised not only Sterling, but herself when she answered.

The moments 5 years ago when Nate had sentenced the team to death flashed back in her mind. Now it was her turn to sentence him to death.

Sterling stopped and turned back around.

"That was very easy for you wasn't it?" He asked.

She didn't move and refused to look up at him.

"I did read the files. How he sold your team out for Sophie. Yes, it obviously pains you. But, what you have yet to learn is that in the end, you are willing to give up anything for the person you love most."

Parker sat still, furious and ready to rip Sterling to pieces. Her body ached to slash him to the ground like she did with the zombies.

"No." Sterling gave an eerie laugh. "You don't get to pick Nate."

She looked up at Sterling, fearing what he was about to say next.

"I want you to choose…I want you to choose between your brother and your lover."


	21. Chapter 21

_Author's Note:_

_Hi everyone. Here's the next chapter! If I manage to finish Chapter 22 tonight, I'll post it early as a holiday gift. :) _

_Thanks so much for the reviews and for reading the fanfic. I love you guys!_

_R&R_

_Chapter 21:_

"Is that Big Lucy?" Caroline asked as she pointed out of the front window. She recognized the familiar RV sitting behind the tall fence, but never expected to see it again.

"Interesting." Chaos reflected.

"So everyone is clear on the plan, right? We only have one shot at this." Sophie said looking from Caroline to Chaos. She spent a few extra seconds giving Chaos a pointed look.

"I've got it." He said, raising his hands up in defeat, and then muttering something under his breath that Sophie chose to ignore.

The building they arrived at was only two stories high, but after looking over the blueprints they were all well aware of the four floors below ground level. The walls of the building were bland and even in the darkness, it was easy to tell that this building wasn't designed to entertain guests; it was designed to detain hostages.

Along the outside of the building were two layers of gates. The first fence on the outside acted as a zombie defense shield. It kept a constant electrical charge. The group glanced at the zombies who had attempted to climb over it. They lay on top of each other strewn on the ground surrounding the compound like ragdolls.

It was easy to become desensitized. It was us versus them, Sophie thought. Sophie could easily see herself lying there, burn marks on her body from the fence, body decomposing, ribs breaking through the thin layer of skin still left on the body. Really, it made it real that these were once people just like herself.

The second gate stood half as tall as the first but circled the compound again as more of a screening process for incoming travelers. Before you could pass through the second gate and into the compound you had to be approved to go in by security. Sophie knew that security was Sterling's strongpoint, so it was important that the trio not make a mistake.

Chaos drove the RV up to the first gate. He ran over a few zombies who lay decomposing on the ground and rolled down the window, careful not to draw the attention of any zombies wandering around the outside.

"We are here to deliver on a contract." Chaos yelled into a receiver. All three looked directly at the video camera that flashed red every so often to the right of the speaker box.

There was a pause, but finally someone answered.

"Identify yourself." The male voice was raw and harsh.

"My name is Chaos. This is Caroline Ramsey and this…" he motioned to Sophie, "is Annie Kroy."

There was another silence from the speaker box. The red light on the mini video camera next to the speaker box continued to flash.

Sophie gave a sideways glance over to Caroline. The girl looked nervous and Sophie hoped that it had more to do with her skill as an actress than it did as a girl who is about to travel into a den of murderers and thieves.

All three silently worried for a moment that this was a bad decision, but remained quiet. Chaos had almost given up when the sound of the fencing squealed and the first gate opened.

Chaos quickly accelerated as Caroline and Sophie, eyes wide, glanced hopefully at the other.

The security station came up quickly, only being fifty feet away from the outside fence. The security station looked small in comparison to the building, but it was a standalone station with a big enough room to easily hold seven or eight people comfortably inside. The windows were heavy duty and bulletproof. Sophie figured this was a place for security to retreat to in the case of a zombie breach in the front gate.

"You were not at the drop off location yesterday." An oversized man growled as he stepped up to the RV driver's side window.

"There was a good reason for that." Chaos gulped. He clenched the wheel a little tighter keeping eye contact with the man. He didn't look familiar, but Chaos recognized his type, the mercenary kind; the ruthless killer type. The man's beard was like sandpaper and his lip had been sliced open and was scarred over.

"Oi, enough of this. I'm here to see the man in charge, and I don't like you wasting my time." Sophie spoke up in her feminine, yet controlling voice leaning over Chaos and looking deeply and daring into the man's eyes.

"And who are you sweetheart? The entertainment?" He chuckled, but his tone seemed more threatening than amused.

"I haven't travelled from England to waste my time with the likes of you, darling." She set her glare straight at him, never hinting at the nervousness for a second.

He stared at her long and hard. Chaos remained calm, Caroline frozen in her seat, sure that any moment the man would send a bullet through Sophie's head. Sophie gave a small smile while her eyes told the guard that anything other than his cooperation would be a very bad decision.

"Sweetheart, if you don't tell me why you are here, you are not getting through this gate." His tone was dangerous, but Sophie knew all too well that she was infiltrating his psychological defenses. "But, you could always stay here with me." He gave a challenging grin. She ignored him.

"All you need to know is that I have an international business proposal for your boss." She paused. "As for the invitation, we will see how well you behave."

She had sized him up the moment Chaos rolled down the window. The man was brutal, dangerous, gruff, yet Sophie could tell through her perceptive nature that he liked a woman in charge, and just like most men post zombie apocalypse, were desperate for feminine attention.

Sophie inwardly cheered at her performance, while both Chaos and Caroline shot her looks of horror and disgust. The guard's eyebrow raised slightly as he drank her in.

"And this one?" He asked, nodding his head to Caroline. Her face immediately went white. She was sure she didn't have the words to speak let alone the ability to threaten a dangerous potential murderer like Sophie did.

"She is part of the contract." Chaos inserted.

The guard stood, and looked appraisingly at each of them. His eyes remained on Sophie a moment longer than necessary and then he quickly backed up and retreated into the security station.

Caroline looked at Chaos hopefully, while Sophie sat cool and collected, remaining in character. The adrenaline rush of running a con was something she thought she would never feel again. It was amazing.

As soon as it came, her triumph disappeared as the guard and three other men stormed out of the security station. Had they figured it out already? Was their cover blown?

Without warning, three of the four men stormed into the RV, turning the place over.

"Just a precaution," the guard that Sophie had previously flirted with said to them from the driver side window.

"They look clean." One of the men called from the back of the RV.

"Okay, you three, get out." He said. Caroline was now stark white. Sophie was sure she would faint at any moment.

All three nodded. Sophie quickly grabbed her large purse and Chaos pulled the small black case containing the blue vial out from under his seat.

The three men in the back of the RV prepared to search through Sophie's purse, but quickly disbanded when they caught her look of contempt.

The three quickly stepped out and the trio followed the first guard to the entrance of the grey building. When they got closer to the entrance, they could see the water stains on the walls along with some graffiti that seemed faded. The doorway was made of steel and the guard banged on it three times. A guard opened the door from the inside and let them in, nodding to their guide as they passed.

They continued to follow him down a variety of corridors, turning every so often. Everything looked the same, but Chaos and Sophie kept track in their head of each turn and followed along the blueprints they memorized.

They finally stopped in front of an anonymous door halfway down one of the darker corridors. The guard opened the door and the three of them followed the him into a holding room where there were a few chairs around a single metal table. Other than that, the room was completely empty; nothing inside except the smell of sweat and fear.

As soon as they entered, the guard gave Sophie one last hungry look and shut the door. They could hear it being locked from the outside. Sophie rolled her eyes.

Caroline quickly fell into the chair, hyperventilating.

Sophie gave Caroline's shoulder a supportive squeeze as she cased the room making sure there were no video cameras. She saw none.

"Resources look a bit slim. Sterling would have had the entire place wired top to bottom with video cameras if he could." Sophie assessed out loud.

Chaos paced back and forth, ignoring Sophie. He tried to remain calm, but normally his cons were behind the scenes. He didn't have the innocence that Caroline had, the feminine charm that Sophie played on so well, or the brawn like some of these guards. He was completely useless and now had to face some of the most ruthless thieves and murderers in zombie apocalyptic America.

"Chaos!" Sophie yelled louder. Chaos looked over in surprise. She gave him a frustrated look. "Wake up, we have work to do." She chastised.

"Fine." He said, pretending that he hadn't actually been lost in worry, but was merely acting rebellious.

Sophie walked over to Caroline and squatted next to her chair.

"Caroline, dear." She said softly. The girl looked into Sophie's eyes.

"I'm fine." She said. Sophie could tell she spent the last two minutes forcing herself to get in control like she had been telling herself this entire night. Despite the early hours of the morning, all three were wide awake. Sophie felt a motherly compassion for the girl, understanding that before now it was all hypothetical's and planning; this was where she actually had to take the risks. It's a lot easier to say what you are going to do, than actually doing it.

"Okay, everyone ready?" She asked, with a slight waiver in her voice. She glanced at Chaos, he nodded, and then to Caroline, who took a moment, then stood up and nodded.

Sophie smiled and dove into her oversized purse, fishing around. Finally, she pulled out a small handheld case, which she unzipped.

"Thank you Parker." She said to herself. Even after five years, Sophie still remembered the quick tricks that Parker had taught her about picking locks. She even kept the same mini lock picking toolkit that Parker had given her for their fourth Christmas as a team. It came in handy more that Sophie had cared to admit.

Sophie kneeled in front of the door while Chaos kept his ear up against it, trying to hear whether someone was passing through the corridor. Sophie had to stop every once in a while, but after about five minutes all three heard the quiet click of the door unlocking.

She silently stood up and looked at both Chaos and Caroline. Here they were. The varsity team was out of play, and now it was the second string players turn to save the game.

Sophie pulled a pistol out of her purse and concealed it in her jeans, pulling her oversized shirt up over it. She then stuck her arm out handing the purse to Caroline. Caroline gave an unsure smile and then took the bag, opening it just enough to get a look at the bomb nestled calmly inside, waiting to be activated.

"Take a deep breath, stay out of sight and don't stop, no matter what." Sophie said calmly. Caroline gave a quick nod.

Sophie placed her clammy hand around the metal door handle, slowly twisted it and pulled the door open. After peering out, she gave a quick glance back to the other two and darted out. Chaos looked over at Caroline who returned the look in fear and anticipation. He gave a smile, and then jutted out of the door. Then, it was just Caroline left, running over the plan once more in her mind. She forced the fear that tried to penetrate her entire body back out again, and quickly stepped out of the room, raced down the right corridor, around the corner and out of sight.


	22. Chapter 22

_Author's Note:_

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!

_Chapter 22:_

_The Interrogation Room: _

Everything in the room had slowed down as Parker absorbed the words that Sterling spoke.

"_I want you to choose…I want you to choose between your brother and your lover."_

Parker's mind went fuzzy and her thoughts involuntarily went back to the day that everything began.

_5 Years Ago:_

"_Let me know when you two are ready and I will disengage the earbuds." Hardison's voice rang into both Eliot and Parker's ears. _

"_Why again are we turning them off? I thought these were the best?" Parker asked as she reeled the rope around her waist and fastened it to her belt. _

_Eliot rolled his eyes when a sharp offended intake of breath was heard from Hardison's end of the line. _

"_These __are__ the best, Parker. But the minute you go inside, there is a special device they have that detects all wireless frequencies radiating inside the building. I don't want to risk it." _

"_First your pet projects can't handle water, now they can't handle the Pentagon? Sounds like you are losing your touch." Eliot chuckled under his breath._

_There was a long silence on Hardison's end of the line. Parker gave Eliot a shove as if to scold him, while simultaneously smiling._

"_Make your own damned earbud's." Hardison finally responded. "You two ready?"_

__Parker and Eliot walked carefully along the roof entrance, hugging the walls.__

_Eliot rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're ready."_

"_Okay, adios!" The noise on the earbud let off a shrill noise then went silent. Both Eliot and Parker dislodged each of their earbuds from their ears and stuffed them in a pocket._

_Parker latched her encryption device to the keypad attached to the door. The door was steel and would open up into a stairwell. The numbers began spinning on Parker's device as the eleven code lock slowly began its decryption process. _

"_It's sort of strange that Nate had the encryption sequencing program for us. Hardison told me it would have taken him a month to get the sequencing information in order to crack the code. Who did Nate say he knew in the Pentagon?" Parker licked her lips as she watched the eight number roll to a stop. _

"_He didn't say. There's a lot about this job that doesn't make sense." Eliot answered watching the ninth and tenth numbers spin to a stop. _

"_Almost there." Parker said impatiently as she glanced once more around the roof. She estimated they had about four minutes before the guard climbed the stairs for his fifteen minute round to the roof. _

_Both Eliot and Parker glimpsed down at the device as the eleventh number stopped and the keypad lock clicked and then flashed green. A loud click sounded from inside the door signaling entry. _

"_After you." Eliot smiled, grabbing the door handle and wrenching it open. Parker gave a devious glint and began her descent down the stairs. She counted down the minutes in her mind. Both Eliot and Parker heard a belly laugh from around the corner and knew that the guard would be there any second. _

_Parker swiftly curved around another hallway and into the women's bathroom. Eliot did the same, vying his way into the men's bathroom. They had planned their strategy out for days, making sure that they memorized every blueprint, weak point, and escape. Roof entry seemed to have the least security from Parker's surveillance. Most of the sensitive documents, computer mainframes and conference rooms with high level agents were on the lower levels and into the basement floors in case of a terrorist attack. There were few who actually even worked on the upper levels. _

_Parker quickly stripped her clothes, leaving herself only in her underwear and a white tank top. She quickly pulled the grey suit jacket and black pencil skirt from her backpack. Once she shimmied into her outfit she quickly grabbed her black heels and stuffed her first outfit back into her bag._

_Parker quickly exited the deserted bathroom and found Eliot sipping some water at the fountain. He wore a sleek pantsuit and a disdainful grimace. _

"_What?" Parker asked pointedly._

"_The suit itches." He complained. _

"_Man up. Let's get this over with." Parker laughed. _

"_Who's there?" A loud voice yelled from the end of the hall. _

_Both Parker and Eliot froze. Had they been found out already? Neither had attempted a break into the Pentagon before. Who knew what new security measures were in place to catch them? Hardison said they updated daily, especially after he hacked in the first three times._

_Eliot thought fast and grabbed Parker around the waist and spun her around to face him. The security guard rounded the corner and stormed up to them. _

"_What the hell is going on here?" _

_Parker quickly swiveled around in surprise. "Oh! I'm so sorry." She gushed. _

"_You two don't belong up here. What are you doing?" _

_Eliot gave a guilty look and Parker quickly looked down, feigning embarrassment. _

"_What are your names? You know I will have to report this. Work relationships are strictly prohibited."_

_Parker gave a fake horrified look. "Oh, please. My name is Becky. I'm Colonel Everson's personal assistant. Please, I can't lose my job." _

_Eliot gave a worried expression. "Hey man, it's my fault. Don't report us. I work in Section 4, you know my record needs to be spotless to stay there. We'll do anything." _

"_You should have known that before you decided to fool around on government property." The man was not letting up. _

"_You are right." Parker burst into tears, covering her face. Sophie had taught her well. _

"_Oh, now look what you did." Eliot scolded the guard. A quick pained expression crossed the guards face. _

_The guard looked back down the hallway, then back at Parker, biting his lip. _

"_Just, damnit, get out of here and don't do it again. If I see you two together again, your asses are history."_

_Parker's face lit up in hope. "Thank you so much…Frank." She said looking from his nametag and up again. _

_Quickly, both Parker and Eliot slipped away, walking quickly down the hallway. Parker let out a sigh of relief. _

_Eliot and Parker sped along the isolated hallway until they arrived at the elevator. Upon entering, Eliot swore as he looked at the swipe card activation for the elevator. _

"_Damn, we need to get to the stairs. We don't have much time." Eliot glanced at his watch in frustration, then back up at Parker. _

_She gave a wicked smile as she held a swipe card in between her middle and index finger. Eliot gave a grin as he noticed the guards name printed on the card along with a washed out picture of the man they had just encountered. He gave her a complimentary smile. He hadn't even seen her grab the badge._

_Parker quickly swiped the card and pressed the round button for sub-basement level 3. It lit up and they stood calmly as the levels spiraled downward. Parker recounted their steps so far and prepared herself. Once the doors opened, they had to make it to room 3745b and locate a file for Nate. _

_The elevator clicked to the entrance level, then began to drop down to sub-basement level one when it happened. Immediately, the elevator lurched to a stop between floors and alarms went off everywhere. _

"_What's going on?" Eliot yelled, covering his ears over the blaring alarms that sounded on and off. They could hear noises from all over the building. Something had gone terribly wrong._

"_I don't know." Parker yelled back as they were both interrupted by a female announcer over the intercom. "We are on level one security lockdown. We are in a level one security lockdown. We are in a level one security lockdown."_

_Both Eliot and Parker looked at one another. Whatever level one meant, it didn't bode well for the retrieval specialist and the thief. _

_Parker quickly glanced upward. "Give me a lift." She told Eliot. She didn't even give him a chance to respond before she clambered up onto his shoulders, Eliot cursing the entire way up as a heel jabbed into his chest and then shoulder blade. _

_Parker quickly popped the elevator emergency exit from it's hinges and climbed onto the top of the elevator. She looked over the edge. She estimated thirty feet and they would be on the right floor. Parker glanced down to Eliot inside the elevator, who looked back at her in irritation. She knelt down at helped him up. _

_Without much planning, Parker pulled her black shirt from her backpack and used it to protect her hands as she slid down the thick elevator wire, catching her footing at the elevator door labeled with a SB3 which she deciphered as sub-basement three. She latched her fingers up against the edge of the doorway allowing Eliot to slide down to her level. Both could hear the blaring sounds of the emergency from behind the door. _

"_What use is Hardison anyway? Shouldn't he have disabled that?" Eliot complained as he latched himself up against the doorway and pushed his calloused fingers in between the door and hinged it apart. _

_The sonic boom of the emergency noises hit them with force as they exited the doorway. _

_Both Eliot and Parker sped into the hallway, moving away from the elevator shaft, unsure if they were found out or this emergency was just bad timing. _

"_What's going on?" Eliot asked a red-faced woman half running down the hallway towards them. Parker was sure along with the other people, this one would run them over at the speed she was going._

"_I don't know." She asked without stopping, "something bad." She didn't wait around to find out and raced off down the hall. Eliot imagined level one must be very bad to have people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. _

_Parker didn't waste any time as she sped down the hall looking at room numbers. Eliot followed quickly behind almost losing sight of her at certain turns. When he finally rounded the last corner he recalled from the blueprint, he noticed Parker slip into a room. He glanced at the door as he walked up, it was room 3745b. Eliot looked both ways, then followed her in. _

_The room was filled with files, from wall to wall. They quickly sifted through each file, pulling filing cabinets open, searching through the files and finding nothing. _

_Parker let out an aggravated shrill as she slammed one of the last cabinets shut. _

"_It's not here." She yelped. As soon as the words left her mouth all noise in the building went silent. The alarms were cut off and everything was dead. _

_Parker looked at Eliot nervously. He shrugged his shoulders as he closed the last filing cabinet. _

_Both Parker and Eliot were about to leave when they heard a fumbling noise from behind the closet door. It looked locked, but all Parker needed was a paperclip and the lock clicked open. _

_Both looked suspiciously at one another when carefully, Eliot grasped the door handle and twisted the knob. _

_Parker pulled her taser, ready for a fight. _

_Eliot shoved the door open and barged in with a threatening face, ready for whatever was behind the door. _

_The room was large and full of shadows. At the center of the dark closet, which could have easily doubled as an attached room, was a man sitting in a wooden chair wrists tied behind him, his back to both of them. Parker flipped the light switch on and closed the door as Eliot carefully made his way around the chair to get a front view of the man. _

"_Parker." Eliot breathed. _

_Eliot's face was white as he looked up at Parker. She quickly made her way around the chair to finally get a look at what had Eliot so mortified. She had never seen his face like that before, and couldn't imagine what he was looking at. _

_Circling around, Parker looked at the man who's mouth was gagged and nose bled down his face onto his shirt. The man had a black eye, but stared them down with a deadly defiance. _

_Eliot quickly ungagged him. _

"_You won't get away with this." The man said. "They are looking for me as we speak. You will never get out of her alive, with or without me." _

_Parker was speechless. Her mouth in a quiet "o" not sure how to respond. She recognized this man._

_Eliot grabbed Parker's arm with the speed and force of lightning. _

"_This is a set-up." He breathed. _

"_No-" was all Parker could say as the door burst open with guards and guns pointed straight at them. _

"_STEP AWAY FROM THE PRESIDENT." The armed guards yelled in fury. _

_Parker backed up while Eliot looked on in disbelief. _

"_Eliot!" Parker said as she was tackled against the wall. The breath was knocked out of her and her taser was ripped from her hand. _

_Parker waited for a response as she watched Eliot grab the guard who was currently holding her down, ripping him away from her and shoving him to the opposite wall. _

"_Get off of her!" He bellowed. Five other guards grabbed a hold of Eliot and flung him backwards to the floor. Parker watched in horror as they stomped on him like a piñata and finally knocked him unconscious with the butt of a gun. _

_She struggled to get away, but she never stood a chance as her own taser was used to electrocute her into submission. As everything fell into darkness she could hear the Presidents last words, 'they tried to kill me.'_

_In the Interrogation Room: _

Sterling watched Parker's eyes glaze over and knew he had broken her.

After a moment her eyes flicked up to the cameras and watched as Hardison writhed in pain, and Eliot limp around the cell.

Parker screamed inside, knowing she was going mad. How could she choose between the two men she trusted more than anything, and that trusted her and loved her?

Her mind ran over her options. Her fists clenched the chair and her mind momentarily drifted back to the wonderful moments spent dancing with Hardison in the gymnasium. Had that only been a day ago? She chastised herself for not kissing him when she had the chance. If he didn't make it…she couldn't even think it. She had lost him once, and she would not lose him again.

Her eyes darted over to Eliot on the screen. Her brother, her best friend. The person that despite all they had been through stayed with her, kept her safe, and kept her loved. She could never choose him. She would never do what Nate did.

Her mind raced furiously, at certain moments her violent streak resorted to screaming obscenities at Sterling and at others she would slam her head against the seat.

Sterling all the while remained calm and let her soak in the decision.

Parker sat back, finally calming down and making up her mind.

"The Blackwell Facility." She said smoothly with black ice lacing her irises.

"See, was that so difficult, Parker?"

She spat at him.

Parker knew she was dooming Hardison if Sterling got a hold of all three vials, but he would need to get the Blackwell Facility vial and the blue one that they had before he could administer it to Olivia. She just hoped that it would be enough time for her to escape and get them first.

He walked past her, wiping the spit disdainfully from his jacket.

"Find me the coordinates to this facility and give them to the pilot. Tell the men to head out and meet me there." Sterling ordered Mikel, who obediently nodded and left without a word.

Sterling looked back at Parker from the doorway and paused. "You saved my daughter once, Paker, please help me do it again."

Parker remained silent; seething in fury and hatred for Jim Sterling.

Sterling disappeared into the hallway and Parker knew she would kill him if it was the last thing she did.


	23. Chapter 23

Author's Note:

Sorry, sorry, sorry it's taken so long to update.

Here is the next chapter. We are leading up to the final climax of the story now so hold onto your seats.

I still love to hear feedback, so please read and review!

Chapter 23:

Caroline raced down another abandoned hallway, the adrenaline pulsing in her veins. She passed another set of bathrooms that looked just the same as on the previous hallway. _Am I heading in circles?_

She had memorized the blueprint, just like Chaos and Sophie, but they seemed to have a knack for picking up the patterns and intricacies of the hallways, whereas it took her twice as long to recount the corridors on which she needed to travel.

A few of the corridors were barren, but with some, she had to think fast and dive into a closet or around a corner. After ten minutes of running through the maze, she became quite skilled at hearing the thugs walking down the hallway, not that they were trying to be quiet, by any means.

She made a left down a passageway she'd sworn she been on before, but was careful to notice that more of the lights were out along this corridor than normal. She made her way halfway down the hall and came upon exactly what she was looking for.

A flush of relief and accomplishment spread across her cheeks. There in front of her stood an open metal door. She didn't even need to walk in to see what was inside. Both Chaos and Sophie were adamant that this was the place, and as usual, they were right.

She took a moment to listen in for any signs of movement. There were no thugs or living beings in this room, but that wasn't what gave it a lifeless quality. Every piece of machinery was dark and emanated a sense of death about it.

She walked in and took in everything she saw. The ceilings were high and there were two ceiling fans that turned at a low pace, barely pushing the air around. The room smelled of metal and mold and the lights flickered on and off every few seconds. There were rows and rows of shelves each with different sized guns. There were a variety of rifles, shot-guns, pistols and automatic rifles. Her eyes glazed around the room, walking around the shelving of guns to find the perfect place. If they were going to do this, they needed to do it right.

Towards the middle of the room, behind a row of shot-guns she found what she was looking for; shelves and shelves of ammunition. There were even a few bins filled with a myriad of different sized bullets that they must have just brought in from a looting mission.

She stared at the bin of bullets by her feet. _This is it._

Her body tensed as she slowly pulled the bag open. Inside, the bomb that could have easily exploded at any moment, sat like a sleeping dragon, waiting for her to awaken it.

Holding her breath, she ever so gently placed her fingers around the outside of the bomb. Chaos gave specific instruction on where to hold it without causing any potential 'miscalculations' he called it.

Slowly pulling it out, she used both hands to nestle the bomb gently into the bin of bullets. Gunpowder and bombs would make a big enough explosion to knock out this entire room.

Chaos specifically explained that the room was sealed in a specialty metal that was thick and durable. Sterling would know to put the guns and weapons in this room so in case of an accidental misfiring or accidental explosion, the facility would still remain intact.

Caroline was now on her knees, leaning over the plastic bin as she slowly pulled her hands away from the sleeping dragon.

She looked down on the digital timer. It was set for three minutes. Enough time for her to get out, lock the door and get as far away from the room as she could.

She took a slow deep breath as she recounted what her father had told her. _I can do this. I can do this._

Then not giving herself any more time to fret and fear this decision, she pressed the red and blue buttons simultaneously, starting the countdown timer.

Immediately, she saw the time grow smaller. 2:59…2:58…2:57…

She jumped up and quickly darted between a row of shotguns and pistols when she heard it.

"Okay, let's load up and head out. No messing around." A gruff angry voice shouted from the entrance.

Caroline froze in place, a shot of lighting running up her spine in fear. She could hear multiple men stomping in the room and by their voices it could have been at least 10.

They remained up front and she fearfully shoved herself between a shelf and the far corner of the metal wall.

Her mind raced. _Which is worse, a bomb or 10 bloodthirsty killers?_

_Along a corridor:_

Chaos quickly rounded another corner, knowing that he was only a few turns away from the surveillance room. Since there were so many places to hide a vial throughout the building, the trio thought it best for one of them to go to a surveillance room and scope out the area. Find out whether Sterling kept his vial in his possession or had it hidden somewhere on site.

He rounded a sharp corner and immediately collided with someone.

Both stumbled to the ground. Chaos didn't let the box he held in his hand loose for a moment and he inwardly prayed that the vial hadn't broken inside when it slammed to the ground.

As soon as Chaos looked up, he locked eyes with a familiar face.

"Mikel Diane?" _Oh Shit._

"Chaos. My good friend. What are you doing here?" Mikel asked with a devilish look.

Both stood slowly, sizing the other up for potential weaknesses. Chaos knew he was toast.

"I…I'm here to deliver the vial." He held up the vial.

She looked at him skeptically. "Sure, my friend." Her Hebrew accent was thick. He remembered it all too well. "And this has nothing to do with the fact that we are holding your precious teammates, of course?"

He shook his head, but he knew that she could see right through his lies.

In a split second he lunged at her. She just laughed, caught his arm, mid thrust, and twisted it backwards ripping the box out of his hand.

"You were always so cute." She chuckled in her sultry voice. "Like a little chipmunk."

He grimaced, feeling more and more emasculated.

With a swift movement, she shoved him to the ground and gave him a hard kick in the chest.

"For your stupidity and convenience, I will spare your life, for now. I am much too busy to deal with you. Besides, you gave me exactly what I need." She lifted up the box as a wave goodbye as he sat breathless on the floor.

For a moment, she hesitated, then turned back around and looked at Chaos again. His eyes widened, thinking maybe she didn't want to forgo the opportunity to eliminate him. She turned her head to the side, reached in her pocket with a free hand, and threw a key his direction.

It bounced and clinked all the way to him and he stared at her in shock. She gave him a wink and strode away in her confident and demanding movements.

He looked down in surprise at the key sitting before him. Creeping his hand up to the key, he picked the cold, shiny piece of metal up and flipped it over in his palm.

Finally, after a huge groan and a hand on the part of his stomach where she kicked him, he slowly kept moving until he reached the door he was looking for.

It stood tall, but not altogether difficult to hack into. For a moment he was about to kick it open, but then he stopped and looked at the key that Mikel had just given him.

Not believing it to be possible, he slowly slid the key into the slot and then turned. With a cough of surprise the door clicked.

He reached for the handle and turned the knob.

Chaos slowly opened the door, unsure of Mikel's intentions. Was this a trap? Did she knowingly lead him into a room full of armed men?

Peering in the room, he saw nothing except for a few tables, a wall full of monitors and someone in a chair, the person's back to him.

A few of the monitors were on, but he was too far away to make out the figures on the screen. Truth be told, he was more focused on the person sitting silently in the chair just five feet away from him. He gave another quick look around the room, verifying that there was no one hiding in the shadows. He had decided when they first arrived that there were far too many shadows in this place.

He spotted a messy ponytail of blonde hair and for a moment his heart stopped. It was Parker. Was she sleeping? Unconscious? Dead? He couldn't tell.

He slowly walked up and moved around the chair to see her head drooped down and her wrists fastened to the arm rests.

"You already got the information. What more do you want?" Parker said with her eyes closed not bothering to look up at the man in front of her.

Her tone was cold and dead. It had a hatred that he had only ever heard from her once before; the minute they spotted Nate and Sophie up on the top tower where they found the first vial.

Whomever she had been talking to, it wasn't good. She seemed roughed up, but not in critical condition.

"What information?" Chaos asked placing his hands on his hips and looking down at her condescendingly.

Parker's head whipped up so fast he was sure her head might have flown off altogether.

"Chaos?" Her voice was surprised and hopeful; almost like she didn't believe he was really there.

"In the flesh." He mocked, rolling his eyes. "Are you ready to go?"

She looked at him confused. "Get me out of this damned chair." She said, wanting answers after she was free to move about again.

Chaos quickly got her loose as both took the next few minutes and filled one another in on vital updates.

"You left a bomb in the hands of Caroline? What were you thinking?" she asked in disbelief.

"Me? You are the one who found out where the third vial was and then immediately followed to share it with the one person that we don't want getting their hands on it."

Both squared off, already bickering.

Parker gave a huff. "When is the bomb supposed to go off?"

Before he had the chance to respond, a huge explosion rocked the building. Dust fell from the ceiling and both looked up in concern.

Chaos gave her a look as if to say, 'there's your answer'.

"We need to get to the guys." She said quickly as they rushed out of the room. Parker grabbed a taser laying on the table as they left, feeling the control enter her body once more.

_5 minutes earlier:_

After Mikel's run in with Chaos, memories of the past filtered through her.

Chaos truly did remind her of a little chipmunk, but she knew he was a smart chipmunk.

She jogged along the corridor with the new vial and out onto the roof where Sterling would be leaving with the helicopter. It was easy to find the location of the Blackwell facility with access to the national databases and now she had the vial.

She ran up on the tarmac as the choppers blades spun to life. Wind gusted everywhere and her shirt wanted to fly away behind her, but she moved forward up to the chopper as Sterling waited for her. His pilot was one of only two skilled pilots left in the base. If anything happened to either one, they would lose a mode of transportation that had aided them well.

Sterling looked at her hand in surprise when he spotted a box similar to the one he had in his hand. Mikel knew this to be the other vial. He wouldn't let it out of his sight and entrusted no one other than himself to be in possession of it. He even took it to bed with him. It was sad really.

She ran up to him. The gusts were so loud that she had to yell into his ear for him to hear her.

"The blue vial for brain function." She yelled in his ear. His eyes widened in surprise and confusion. She continued, "Chaos is here."

He looked at her in concern and he yelled back to her. "His friends will be here too. Secure our hostages and take them out if they cause any problems."

As soon as Mikel had given a curt nod in confirmation, the building rocked. Mikel was well aware of what it felt like when an explosion rocked a building from the inside. Back in Myanmar a grenade exploded not far from the building where she was camped out as a sniper. She had almost lost her life that day, but her quick thinking kept her protected from the ceiling debris.

"I will take care of it." Mikel yelled to him when he looked on in concern. She could tell that he was torn between taking care of his facility, making sure his daughter was still safe and going after the final vial. He finally agreed with Mikel and got in the helicopter.

She ran off the tarmac and back inside toward the cells where they kept Nate, Eliot and Hardison. She was sure that is where they would be headed next.

_Down a separate hallway_:

Sophie felt the bomb shake the building. She was now very close to the side of the building where the cells were. She ran past a cell full of rabid dogs which she immediately steered clear of, followed by a row of either empty cells or cells filled with zombies and different levels of decay.

Heading to another hall she found exactly what she was looking for. Two cells side by side.

"Nate." She yelled to him in relief. She jogged up to the bars and he grabbed her in a tight embrace through the metal encasing.

"What are you doing here?" Nate asked.

Sophie gave him a smile. "We are rescuing you of course."

Eliot wanted to gag, but remained silent. He still detested the love that they shared. It would forever more remind him of the betrayal, even if they were working together again.

"Was that a bomb?" Eliot asked.

"Yes, now we need to get you two out of here." She quickly grabbed the lockpicking set and began working on the door.

As she began, she hear a moan and yell from the other cell.

Nate began, "we have another problem Sophie."

She looked at him in horror and despair. "Hardison is infected." She answered for them.

Nate nodded.

"Well, well. If it isn't the famous Sophie Deveraux." A hebrew voice spoke from a few feet away.

Sophie jumped up and squared off, looking at the tall brunette.

Eliot quickly limped up to the bars.

"Don't fight with me, Mikel. I will kill you." Malice dripping from Sophie's words.

Mikel smiled her wicked seductive smile. "I think, not if I kill you first."

Everyone was silent.

"Sophie." Eliot said as calmly as possible. "You need to run."

She looked over at him. "RUN!" He yelled. "NOW!"


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note:

Since I hadn't posted in a while before this week, I figured I would go ahead and double up, and post another chapter.

Thanks for your feedback Hoellenwauwau and Jill! Don't worry, Eliot whump soon to come. There will be a big big big zombie fight and even with a limp, Eliot always kicks major zombie ass.

Thanks for the reviews, they really do keep me motivated to write. :)

Chapter 24:

The two dark beauties stood face to face, with threatening stares. It was interesting really, to see these two deadly women face off. Strength versus Grift. Which was more powerful?

Sophie ignored Eliot. She didn't run. She was finished running.

Mikel gave a devious smile and leaned against the wall opposite Hardison's cell. Hardison was now stretching his arms out of the cell, grasping for Mikel. Sophie wondered whether he was attempting to protect her or whether his lust for human flesh was beginning to take over; maybe both.

"Do you really want to die today?" Mikel asked.

Sophie remained calm, her strength rising from within. No, Sophie wasn't going to defeat this woman with sheer force; she was going to defeat this woman through her own gifts.

"So, I've heard that Jim Sterling owns you now." Sophie's voice moved through the air like silk.

"No one owns me. I am loyal to only myself." Mikel growled as she clenched her jaw with restraint.

Both Eliot and Nate stood stock still, unease gripping at their insides.

"Well it sure seems like he owns you. You do anything he says, even if it means ruining the world's last chance at saving humankind."

"I don't care about humankind." Mikel responded, stressing the word don't.

Nate gulped, and glanced over at Hardison who was pacing back and forth in the cell in a discombobulated fashion.

"Of course you don't." Sophie exclaimed washing away Mikel's statement like it was nothing. "But you do care about yourself."

Mikel had apparently heard enough, because she immediately moved a few spaces forward and shoved Sophie to the ground. Nate let out an enraged shriek along with a string of nasty explicatives.

Sophie felt the impact of the ground run through her spine, but she ignored the jolting pain.

Mikel started in on her again.

"Your armory is destroyed." Sophie blurted out.

Mikel stopped in surprise and looked at her.

"All of those weapons that you have in there…gone." Sophie explained.

Mikel stood back for a moment understanding Sophie's point. Eliot and Nate both gawked at Sophie in confusion. Eliot couldn't believe that Sophie was still alive.

Sophie persisted. "You know that without those weapons, you can't loot, and if you can't loot, you can't get food, and if you can't get food, what does Sterling have for you that would keep you loyal to him?"

Mikel reached down and pulled Sophie up by the neck. Nate and Eliot jutted forward, only to be stopped by the bars that got in their way.

Sophie remained quiet and patient, despite the fact that her windpipe was slowly being crushed.

Mikel chuckled. "Eliot, you're friend is very good."

Mikel loosened her grip slightly. Sophie remained calm and still, knowing that fighting back would only insight more trouble. Instead, she knew she needed to finish the job.

"Mikel, you should join us." Sophie said with a smile.

"WHAT?" Nate and Eliot both bellowed simultaneously.

Mikel and Sophie gave a silent smirk to one another and ignored the men.

Mikel mulled it over in her mind. She knew long before this moment that her affinity with this group was much stronger than with anyone else. She also knew that, per Sophie's point, she had a much better chance of survival with this group than with Sterling or any of the other brutes in the compound who were just waiting to kill her and replace her as second in command.

Sophie felt Mikel's grip release slightly.

"Join you? Why should I join you?" Mikel asked, wanting to be convinced.

Sophie knew she had already won the game, but appeased Mikel anyway. "You know our crew, and you know that our word is good. Nate's word is good. We share the food, the weapons and anything else we might come across. You can either stay here and die, or come with us and save humankind."

Mikel gave a thoughtful look. Sophie snuck a glance over at the two men standing behind the bars. Their eyes were wide, and their jaws dropped. She gave herself an internal pat on the back.

She saw a glint of surprise and jealousy flit across Eliot's face. Sophie was sure that he had never been able to defeat Mikel Diane, infamous retrieval specialist, so quickly and easily.

Mikel finally took a step back, reached in her pocket and grabbed a ring of keys, flipping through, one by one. Finally she landed on the one she was looking for, and handed it to Sophie who in turn immediately went for the cell door, unlocking it and releasing the two men inside.

"Eliot." Mikel acknowledged as he shoved by her in aggravation.

"Eliot! Nate!" Parker yelled as she raced up to them, Chaos following on her coattails. "You!" Parker yelled as she identified Mikel, then flicking her taser on.

"Wait Parker." Sophie held up an arm as Parker was mere inches from rendering Mikel unconscious. Mikel gracefully pulled back out of Parker's reach, already unsure of how this team thing was going to work.

Sophie continued as Eliot grabbed the taser from Parker's hand. "She is on our side now; joining up with us."

"She watched Sterling beat me. I'm going to kill her!" Parker lunged at her in anger. Eliot caught her around the waist. Even with a limp, he could still keep the tiny catlike creature at bay when he needed to.

Mikel shrugged and ignored the struggling Parker. "We don't have much time. Sterling will soon have all of the vials."

"No thanks to you." Parker spat in her direction. Eliot kept hold, but eased his grip happy that at least one person was justifiably angry at the new retrieval specialist. It had irritated him more than he would have liked to have Mikel and Sophie agree so easily; not that he wasn't grateful that Sophie survived Mikel's wrath.

"We don't have time for this. Where did Sterling go?" Nate asked Mikel.

Parker was quick to interrupt. "They are at the Blackwell Facility."

Nate raised an eyebrow, surprised that Parker was the one with the information. It unsettled him to think that she could have witheld this information all along.

Mikel gave Parker an annoyed look and spoke up. "I have the coordinates, but Sterling dispatched all of his men to meet him out there. You won't get in through the main entrance. Besides, it's underground. Who knows if there _is_ even another entrance? It won't work."

"How far away is it? Have the men already left?" Sophie asked Mikel, ignoring her last remark.

"Half loaded into the first few trucks and went ahead, while the rest went back to the armory for a resupply of weapons." Mikel answered.

"Caroline was going there." Chaos said, tensing. His mind fumbled wondering if she was okay. "Where is she?"

"Not back yet." Nate contemplated, worried.

Chaos and Sophie exchanged concerned looks as they both thought the exact same thing. _Did our plan get her killed?_

"We need to find her." Both Sophie and Chaos blurted out simultaneously.

"We need to go to Blackwell." Parker growled. "In case the rest of you haven't noticed, Hardison is dying."

Everyone went silent and looked over at the moaning man in the cage a few feet away from them.

Parker had spent the last five minutes doing everything in her power not to look over at him. She was sure she would burst into tears right there on the spot. All the walls that she'd built up over the past five years came crumbling down when she saw him on that monitor. In all her life, she was never sure about anything as much as she was about this. _I will save him. _

"Where are we even going?" Sophie asked. "We can't go in the main entrance, Sterling will have that blocked for sure."

"Ask Dr. Craver, he's in one of the basement cells. He told me about the facility. He would know if there is a back entrance, or a vent, something, anything." Parker pleaded.

"Not until we get Caroline." Chaos responded back to her. She gave him a look that he was never expecting to see from her again. Her eyes were like fire. Nothing would stand in her way, least of all the redheaded girl that Sophie and Chaos had become attached to.

Everyone was getting more agitated by the second. The group had grown and grown and now was at its boiling point, ready to overflow. Everyone had a different agenda and a different plan.

The bickering was getting louder and louder. Finally, Nate took control.

"Quiet!" Nate yelled echoing in the hallway. The group went immediately silent. They all knew that tone. It had been five years, but each knew Nate would know what to do.

"Mikel. Get us some weapons and transportation." He looked her directly in the eyes.

She nodded. "Well, you destroyed our armory, but we have our hand to hand combat weapons stored in the blue RV outside."

"Big Lucy." Sophie smiled.

Mikel nodded again. "We will take that, yes?"

"Perfect. And I need you to show Eliot and Parker where this Dr. Craver is. We need any information we can get."

As Mikel and Eliot were ready to head down the hall, Parker stopped them.

"We are not leaving without Hardison. I need to get him out of here." Her tone was resolute as she walked to his cell.

Mikel laughed, but everyone else just looked concerned.

"He will stay here until we get back." Nate said authoritatively.

Parker's voice became a hiss as she took two long strides right up to him. They were mere inches apart and he did his best to stand firm.

"You." She said in a very low voice. "Do not tell me what to do."

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as everyone stood watching and waiting to see what Nate would do.

Finally after a long frozen moment in fear, Nate answered. "He wouldn't want you to do that. He would want you to live."

Parker turned away, knowing Nate was right, but not about to let it show.

"He won't survive here, and I am not leaving him. You do what you want. He is coming with me."

Nate gave out a frustrated huff.

"How did you get Olivia here?" Parker asked Mikel.

Mikel gave a sly smile. "Actually, it's quite interesting, a straightjacket works wonders if you can get it on them."

After another pause, Nate spoke up again. "Okay, I've got a plan." Nate said, feeling strong and ready.

"Eliot, Mikel, get the information and the transportation. Sophie and Chaos, go find out where Caroline is. Parker and I will get Hardison out." After a pause he finished. "Does anyone have a problem with the plan?" It was almost a yell, and he looked directly at Parker. She stood taller and gave a curt nod.

Both Mikel and Eliot finally took up a jog and disappeared around the left corner, while Sophie and Chaos disappeared around the right.

Now it was just Nate, Parker and Hardison. Nate looked over at her as she stared at Hardison. Her face was pale and longing. He could see the memories passing through her mind. He now could see how he himself looked five years ago when he doomed his family to save his love.

Both Nate and Parker searched the closets along the hallway that detained the majority of the zombies for any straightjackets. They'd almost given up hope when at the end of the hall they found an oversized closet filled with shelves and shelves of the white straightjackets. They hit the jackpot.

Parker pulled one out that looked Hardison's size.

Both Nate and Parker quickly races back up to Hardison's cell.

Hardison's face was contorted in unnatural pain. He would stumble from one side of the cell to the other careening against the bars. Parker knew he must be in tremendous agony. She also knew that with one simple scratch, accidental or intentional, it would mean the end of either Nate or herself.

"So who's going in?" Nate asked calmly as they stood side by side in front of Hardison's cell door.


	25. Chapter 25

Author's Note:

So, since I received so much wonderful feedback for the last chapter, I felt compelled to post this next chapter. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate all positive feedback and constructive criticism.

Meagan and Sincerely Tiffany: Thanks! I wasn't sure in the beginning of this story if anyone would like or hate the zombie story idea, but I'm having so much fun writing it. :)

Zippy Zany: I think so too, but we will see what happens. ;)

Kalyblu: As you have probably seen many times over in both my stories, I am far from gifted at catching my grammar and spelling mistakes. Sometimes I have the time (and patience) to go through my chapters a few times to edit and improve, but lately I have only had time to write it, skim through to make sure everything is clear and post it. I've never had a beta reader, but if anyone is interested for the remainder of this story, that might help. :)

hoellenwauwau: :) I love Mikel so I of course had to add her to the team. She may be ruthless on the outside, but I think it's just because she needs someone to soften her up. :D Unfortunately the story must come to an end, but I predict we have at least another solid 7 chapters left, maybe more, depending on how detailed I want to get.

anonymous: Thanks! I am trying really hard with fleshing out each character, but there are so many! I just can't keep track of everyone.

Koxie: I totally agree. Nate should go in, but I think you hit a perfect question: will Hardison let Nate go in? Also, another great call, go MVP Sophie. She finally had some control over her own destiny and decisions; something she has been lacking in her life (in this story). Also, no Eliot whump in this chapter, but it will be soon, I promise. If everything goes according to plan, it should be the chapter after next or the one after that. I've been holding off on his fighting so it could be completely awesome when it happens.

Thanks everyone! Please R&R and I'll post another one!

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><p><span>Chapter 25<span>:

Chaos and Sophie started at a walk toward the direction of the armory, but that pace quickly transformed into a jog and then a full on sprint. Each zipped around corners, raced down long hallways and finally turned down the hall they would find the armory and hopefully Caroline.

Sophie took the lead and jogged up to a shadowed figure at the end of the hallway. Most of the lights were out, but a few flickered on and off.

She came to a stop in front of an ashen faced Caroline who was plastered, her back against the wall opposite the armory. Caroline's eyes were frozen on the iron armory door.

"Caroline, are you okay?" Chaos asked as he came to a stop in front of the girl. Caroline was like a frozen statue; she did not move, she didn't even blink. "Caroline?" Chaos asked louder this time grabbing her shoulder and giving her a gentle shake. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely.

Sophie bit her lip in concern and looked over at Chaos. He returned the nervous glance unsure of what to do.

Finally, after another moment of silence, Caroline voiced a barely audible whisper.

"I killed them…I killed them all."

_10 minutes before:_

_Caroline shimmied herself against the wall as firmly as possible. She felt cold condensation dripping down the back of her neck. Her body shook uncontrollably as she counted the seconds down in her head. _

_It must have been at least a solid minute since she'd been hiding there. She held her breath as two voices joked and walked to the shelf a row down from where she hid. Caroline closed her eyes, knowing that it was only seconds until she would be caught. She heard a beastly laugh and knew that she didn't have long before someone or something killed her. _

_Knowing that she was moments from death, something unexpected and unnatural clicked within her mind. The notion of kill or be killed sprung to life inside of her; an intense and uncontrollable force._

_It was like no feeling she'd felt before. It was a dark and dangerous emotion that stuck to her like glue. Each second that she waited in fear, liquid hatred enveloped her further taking her deeper into the abyss. _

_Holding her breath, she slowly reached her shaking arm around the third level of shelving closest to her and placed her clammy fingers on a shot-gun. It was cold, and she gently fumbled her fingers over the gun for a better grip. _

_Her arm ever so slowly lifted the gun from the shelf. It made a sliding noise off of the shelving unit as she pulled. Her mind went wild as she was sure she would be caught. Caroline did not stop._

_With the brute still laughing as he grabbed a gun, she swung the cold metal in her grasp around the shelf and held it to her chest breathing hard as the adrenaline took over. _

_Her body became ice cold and she was sure she would have no more than thirty seconds left before the entire room exploded. _

_Quickly, not taking a single moment to second guess herself, she sprung from behind the shelving and made a streak to the door. _

_She heard a man yell in the distance and everything went into slow motion. Her body tore itself through the room slicing through the air. She heard a gunshot behind her; it must have been close because she heard the bullet ricochet loudly off of a wall to her right. _

"_YOU!" A man yelled barreling from behind her as she raced in between the shelves and toward the doorway. _

_At the same time, another yell from the other side of the room could be heard. "A BOMB! IT'S A BOMB! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"_

_Everything morphed into utter chaos. Men were screaming charging behind her as she raced to the door. It was so close, she could see the exit, but there were large men closing in on her from all angles. _

_Shots could be heard. She was so close. Only a few more steps. _

_Without warning the air was knocked out of her chest as she was propelled to the wall next to the doorway. The man with the scar looked down on her with a vicious stare and a poisonous hiss, and she knew he would murder her with his bare hands. _

_Everyone continued to barrel towards the door and the muscles in her body took over. Without thinking she held the gun up to the closest man, the man with the scar, and pulled the trigger. _

_The man's face exploded in chunks of brain, bone and blood in all directions. Some of the men behind scarface jumped back as the blood and guts splashed over them like rain. Caroline took that moment and slid her way out of the room, dropping the gun but also pulling the door shut as quickly as she could. Caroline almost lost her grip as the men on the other side tried to pull it open._

_Not two seconds after she managed to get the door firmly closed, the entire floor vibrated in a shockwave. Even behind closed doors the noise was deafening. After a moment, she noticed that she was no longer struggling to keep the door shut. There were no more forces trying violently to open the door and murder her. She had just killed almost fifteen men. _

_Losing the grip on the door she fumbled back against the opposing wall not really comprehending what she had just done. Killing zombies was one thing, but killing humans, a non-infected human was entirely different. She was doing the opposite of her mission, instead of returning life to those infected, she was destroying it. _

_Her eyes glazed over as she envisioned the man with the scar in her mind as his head effortlessly exploded in front of her. _

_Down a dank staircase:_

"So how long will it be before you start talking again?" Mikel asked Eliot as he limped along keeping pace with the resilient woman.

"How long will it be before you turn on us?" Eliot retorted not looking back at her.

She rolled her eyes as she led them down a cement block of spiraling stairs heading further and further underground. The glowing yellow lights illuminated Mikel's hair giving it a shining glow of dangerous beauty. Eliot didn't like it one bit.

"Don't worry so much Eliot. Maybe you should try having some fun every once in a while." Mikel responded, sidestepping his question altogether. Eliot gave an annoyed huff.

He was drawn to her, he couldn't deny it, and it frustrated him to no end. This woman, who kidnapped his friends, caused him to get shot in the leg and who he was sure would switch her loyalties whenever she pleased, kept him very cautious.

The pain in Eliot's leg stabbed him, but he knew it was not the time or the place to share that information. For the team and his own safety he had to remain strong and ever watchful over the dangers that lurked nearby.

"You know Eliot, I never said thank you for saving my life last night." Mikel tilted her head up behind her to get a look into his eyes.

"No, you didn't." He said glaring back down at her.

She gave a sly smile.

"Well?" Eliot waited.

"Well, what?" Mikel asked.

"Are you going to thank me?" He said annoyed now more than ever.

She paused at the bottom of the stairs where a metal door stopped their movements. She spun around and came face to face with Eliot.

She took that moment to really take him in. They were inches apart and if he would have stepped forward he could have pinned her to the door. She wasn't so sure she would have stopped him. Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't let his deep eyes and brooding features intimidate her.

"You know" Mikel said, tilting her head to one side. "I was the one who had to dig that bullet out of your leg. If it weren't for me, you would have died. Maybe you should be thanking me." Her Hebrew accent danced lightly around him echoing up the stairwell.

A maddening growl rumbled in the back of his throat. He could not believe that his attempt at heroism was now requiring _him_ to do the thanking. They stood staring at one another in silence.

"Here we are." She said spinning back around and changing the subject before she uncontrollably grabbed him and forced her lips against his.

Eliot watched as she pulled the door open. The room opened into a large expanse with cement columns spaced evenly throughout.

"Dr. Craver?" Mikel called in a fluid sensual voice.

Eliot limped along the left side while Mikel glided along the right. Eliot didn't budge as the dogs came barreling toward the small barred window nearby. Mikel gave an astonished glint, which immediately vanished. She was surprised that Eliot hadn't been caught off guard at all by the ferocious dogs. She nearly had a heart attack the first time she walked into the dungeon finding rabid dogs nipping and snapping their jaws near her ear.

Both rounded the corner on a whimpering Dr. Craver hunched behind one of the last columns.

"Dr. Craver?" Eliot asked.

The man burst into a fit of tears wailing about the end of the world and the end of his life.

Both Eliot and Mikel gave one another a lost look. Neither was in any way prepared to provide emotional assistance to this man. Both retrieval specialists made things happen with force. Why couldn't Sophie have been here to handle this man's misery?

"We…uh…aren't going to hurt you." Eliot said.

"LIARS!" He wailed again. "You are here to kill me. Just do it already."

Eliot squatted down, careful to not upset his leg and put a hand on Dr. Craver's shoulder.

"We actually need your help."

Dr. Craver haphazardly flung Eliot's arm away. Mikel looked down at her watch and gave a frustrated look at Eliot.

He gave a glare back demanding her to help.

"That's it." Her aggravation finally got the better of her. Without a second thought, she bent over and grabbed Dr. Craver by the neck, dragging him up the column. Enormous tears slid down the sides of his face. He had obviously given up.

"Where is the third vial?" She asked him. He continued to wail, no longer interested in her demands.

Eliot quickly shoved her arm away giving her a dirty look.

"Look, Dr. Craver, the girl that was in here before with you, she is on our team. We are here to get the vials and create the cure and give it out. We are not with Sterling."

Dr. Craver hiccupped and rolled his bloodshot eyes. Eliot could tell that Mikel's patience with this man was wearing thin.

Eliot continued on. "Sterling, the man in charge has two of the three vials and is on his way to get the third at the Blackwell Facility."

With that information, the Doctor let out another loud wail, upsetting the rabid dogs that let out long howls and further gnawed at the bars.

Eliot and Mikel leaned back shielding themselves from this blubbering man as if they themselves would be infected by his deteriorating emotional state.

"She told him. Oh dear god, what have I done?"

Finally, agreeing with Mikel, Eliot had enough. With one quick movement he smacked the weeping man across the face.

Dr. Craver's features went white in shock, looking over at Mikel for some defense and back at Eliot in surprise.

"Get it together. We can still get it back, but we need your help." Eliot instructed.

Dr. Craver pulled his shirt up over his nose and blew into it. Mikel gave a disgusted grimace but kept quiet.

Eliot continued appreciating that Dr. Craver was now limiting his crying to a few errant whimpers. "Is there a back way in to the Facility? If we can get in without fighting Sterling's men, we might be able to pull the last vial out from under them and grab the other two vials while we are at it."

"The other two vials?" Dr. Craver asked desperately. "He has the other two?"

"If you start crying again, I will not be responsible for what I do next." Mikel said clenching her fists together and looking Dr. Craver directly in the eye.

He quickly clamped his mouth shut and looked back at Eliot. Eliot shrugged not taking accountability for what Mikel would do.

"Help us." It was more of a demand than a request, but Dr. Craver took a moment to consider Eliot's request and eventually dropped his head in defeat.

"You are all crazy. And unfortunately, you are my only hope left." He said weakly.

Mikel let out a dazzling smile of triumph in Eliot's direction. Eliot blinked a few times, surprised that he'd never seen her smile like that before.

"Let's go." Eliot said shaking himself free of her intoxicating beauty. He pulled the man out of the dungeon by his arm. "Tell me everything you know."

_By the Armory:_

"Caroline, you didn't have a choice." Sophie explained.

Sophie had never actually killed another human being, neither had Chaos. They were both at a loss for words. Each knew she did the right thing at the right moment. By killing those men and blowing up the armory she was able to defeat most of the brute force and obstacles they would face not only here but those same men who would have been at the Blackwell Facility.

"I know." She said softly. "But…"

"No butts" Chaos said, shifting himself so he stood directly in front of her.

"You did what you had to do to survive. By doing what you did, you will be saving hundreds of thousands of lives." He encouraged, alluding to those who would benefit from the cure.

She looked up at him, her mind still clouded.

Chaos took her cheeks in both hands and gave her a hard look. She surprisingly looked back up at him, directly in the eyes. "We need you, Caroline. Be strong and come with us."

Caroline's body tensed as her eyes gazed into those of Chaos.

Sophie hated the idea of Chaos having such an impact on this impressionable girl, but she relented to the fact that if it got her back to planet Earth and back to them, it would be okay for now.

"We don't have much time. We need to go." Sophie interrupted.

Chaos looked back at Caroline who took a breath, nodded and then followed Sophie and Chaos as they darted down the hallway.

Caroline knew that she would never be able to go back, never feel the way she felt before she entered that armory. The blood would be permanently stained on her hands and she glanced back one last time at the memory of the girl who was clean, the girl who was innocent. That girl was now gone and Caroline disappeared around the corner never to see her innocence again.


	26. Chapter 26

Author's Note:

Hi again everyone. This chapter ended up being so much longer than I anticipated, but I liked how it turned out.

We are about to see the big battles now, I hope you are ready!

Please Read and Review if you want the next chapter!

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><p><span>Chapter 26:<span>

Hardison's face was contorted in unnatural pain. He would stumble from one side of the cell to the other careening against the bars. Parker knew he must be in tremendous agony. She also knew that with one simple scratch, accidental or intentional, it would mean the end of either Nate or herself.

"So who's going in?" Nate asked calmly as they stood side by side in front of Hardison's cell door.

Both remained silent watching intently to see whether there was still a spark of their Hardison still fighting off the infection.

"Hardison." Nate said to the suffering man.

At the sound of his name, Hardison charged up to the cell bars, bouncing back slightly as his body impacted with the barrier. He let out an angry moan. His fingers wrapped themselves around the bars and he rocked them as hard as he could. The bars squealed trying to break free from the cement, but continued to stay firm.

Parker realized what she was asking was much more of a risk than she had initially anticipated. Hardison was losing control and very soon they would lose him altogether.

"Alec?" Parker said softly.

Hardison immediately quieted and looked up at her.

Nate was baffled that for the first time since they had been stuck in the cells, Hardison listened to someone. _He must be in there somewhere._ Nate thought to himself.

"Alec, you need to move to the back of the cell." Parker could see the beads of sweat dripping down his neck.

Hardison let out a loud moan as his body writhed in pain. She could see his knuckles hold harder against the bars.

"I…c-can't do it." Hardison whimpered. Parker could tell she didn't have long. She was losing him.

"Alec." She walked up close to him.

He growled and pulled himself back away from the bars in an effort to protect her.

His body felt as if it was incinerating him from the inside out. Flashes of red shot across his vision and the sound of his blood vessels popping made him nauseous. Even with Parker speaking only a few feet away from him, he could barely manage to understand every other word.

"I need you to make it, Alec. I need you."

Hardison was lost and Parker wasn't sure he had even heard her until he looked up and she saw a blood red tear slide down the side of his cheek. Her body ached for him and for the loss she would feel if she failed.

"I can't." He whimpered again, but he was calmer this time and more focused on standing in one place.

Parker glanced over at Nate who sent her an anxious expression.

"Parker." Nate said calmly. "I don't know about this."

His concern was warranted, but for the one second Parker thought about her life without Alec Hardison, all of the fear washed away and her determination set in.

"Open the door Nate." Parker ordered. Nate didn't argue. He knew this voice. This was _his_ voice five years ago when he said he would do anything to save the love of his life.

Nate cautiously pulled the key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. Taking one final look at Parker, he turned the latch and a loud click caused the bars to shake. He pulled the door open and Parker quickly entered the cell with the straightjacket. Nate immediately closed it behind her.

There she was, five feet away from the love of her life and she could not go to him, could not comfort him, could not reassure him that they would make it.

Hardison let out a scream of pain and staggered himself against the back bars trying to provide as much distance from her as possible. Even on the brink of insanity when his mind was only simplistic words and emotions, Parker was still at the forefront, still the one that he would protect no matter what.

"I need you to stand in the middle of the cell and be as still as you can." She said firmly, her emotions tunneling inside of her to emerge after she did what must be done.

Hardison groaned again.

"ALEC COME OVER HERE AND STAND STILL!" She shouted.

Nate glanced down the hallway making sure they wouldn't have any uninvited guests walking towards them. Luckily the corridor continued to remain empty. His mind flipped momentarily to Sophie and Caroline hoping they were okay.

Hardison curled over slightly desperately fighting the animalistic urges of his body and mind.

He shoveled himself to what he thought was the middle of the cell. Parker remained cautious pacing around the outside. She unbuckled and prepared the straightjacket for Hardison.

Hardison ended up more to the left of the cell than in the center, but Parker was relieved to even get that.

She held her breath as she slowly took a step up to Hardison. His eyes were bloodshot and she could tell droplets of blood were now streaming down from his eyes.

"I need you to remember who you are. Remember who we are." She whispered.

His face was still in anguish but he slowly threaded his left arm into the first armhole of the straightjacket. He was shaking uncontrollably, but it was in.

They were standing so close that if he were to even cough in her direction, she would most likely become infected then and there. She held her breath as she looked into his eyes. Her heart thumped and her lungs burned as she waited patiently to get his last arm into the sleeve.

Nate watched in silence, afraid to say anything that would interrupt the heightened connection that was passing between Parker and Hardison at that moment.

Throughout the time of the infection, he'd never seen someone so close to the edge continue to control his emotions.

"Oh my god." Chaos said as he, Caroline and Sophie walked up next to Nate.

"I know. I don't know how she's doing it." Nate said.

"Not _that_." He patronized. "How could you let her go in there? You sacrificed her once and you let her do it again?"

Nate ignored the accusation.

"Do you think _I_ could do this?" Nate asked, motioning toward the cell where a rabid Hardison continued to follow Parker's guidance despite his distress.

Chaos remained silent.

"Everything okay?" Nate asked finally tearing himself away from the scene to assess Caroline. Her face was stone white as she stared at Parker and Hardison.

"It's okay now." Sophie said for Caroline. "I'll explain later."

Nate knew to trust Sophie's judgment despite his curiosity. He turned his head back to Parker and Hardison.

Hardison had his eyes shut with a grimace on his features facing the four teammates on the outside of the cell. His arms were crossed over his chest being held in place by the white straight jacket.

Parker was behind him pulling the straps tighter and buckling the fasteners on his back as firmly and securely as she could.

"Done." Parker said with a breath.

The others looked over at her in a relieved yet shocked expression. People never willingly got so close to the infected if they didn't have to. It always led to death. Somehow, beyond all reasoning, Parker had done what so many others could not. She had controlled an infected.

Hardison followed their triumphant success with a hair-raising scream as he dropped to his knees. Parker jumped back reflexively. Nate immediately darted for the door, opening it again and carefully going into help get Hardison to Big Lucy.

If he was right, they didn't have much time and neither did Hardison.

_In the RV: _

"How much further." Chaos asked from the driver's seat.

The sun was now rising in the sky as they drove along the highway headed north. Although it was morning, the sky was cloudy and droplets of rain spattered against the large RV window casting a nightly glow. Chaos could tell they were in for a thunderstorm.

"Probably only another twenty minutes, right?" Nate asked, directing his question to Dr. Craver who sat huddled on the couch.

"Y-yes." He said. "But it's too dangerous. We need to go through the front."

"No. We won't get in on time and we don't have enough fighters." Eliot explained.

"Don't you get it? This is a military compound. These infected won't just be regular zombies, they will have armor." Dr. Craver had wild eyes and couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that this group of bickering bandits would ever be able to accomplish the insurmountable feat of holding out in the center of an army base.

Eliot and Parker rolled their eyes simultaneously as they sat across from one another on the kitchenette chairs. Both had fought together against hundreds of zombies and survived, they were sure this time would be no different.

Dr. Craver gave a disbelieving cackle. "You don't even have guns!" He said sending himself into another panic attack.

"I think I might murder him." Mikel muttered to Chaos as she rubbed her temples. She was sitting up front trying to ignore the nagging man. She usually killed men like that. This was the first time she had to actually deal with one. She immediately started to regret signing up with this team.

"For the last time, we have our stash of weapons in the back. We will be fine." Eliot barked.

"Sure! You have shovels, axes and..and other weapons that might be good against one or two zombies, but not against hordes of them!" Dr. Craver whimpered.

A thump was heard from the wall next to Dr. Craver. He shrieked in fear, nearly jumping out of his skin. "And on top of it all, you have a PET ZOMBIE in the bathroom!"

Sophie sat down next to him and began to use her grifting charms to calm him down again, but even she was getting frustrated with the doctor.

"We have the information from him, why can't we kill him?" Mikel asked Chaos loud enough so Dr. Craver could hear.

"Apparently he's the only one that knows how to combine the cure." Chaos said as he flipped on the windshield wipers. A crack of thunder and a streak of lighting touched earth in the distance.

"Look at this." Caroline said as she came out of the back room where the baseball bats, shovels and other weapons lay haphazardly across bed.

"I can't believe it." Nate said with sheer joy. "See, we might have some hope yet."

"What's going on?" Chaos yelled as he half angled himself around to see what was going on and half watched the road.

"It's Hardison's electric fence…and it's charged!" Caroline said with excitement. It was the first spark of life that the group had seen in her in the last three hours of their drive.

"So, all we have to do is go in the base, set the fence up around the air vent and hope that it stays strong until we get back, right?" Parker asked feeling like this couldn't be easier. No zombies to fight, none of Sterling's burly mercenaries to ward off, this was no problem.

"We have a problem." Chaos called from the front.

Nate looked over at him annoyed that the one piece of good luck that they'd received was about to be snuffed out by their sniveling second hacker.

"It's raining." Chaos continued. Everyone continued to stare at him expectantly.

"…So?" Eliot asked.

"So, the electric fence doesn't work in the rain." He said as if it were obvious. "Hardison hadn't figured out how to do that yet. That was his next project."

"Well then you will just have to figure it out for him."

Chaos snorted in disbelief. "You really have no idea how technology works, do you?"

Everyone followed by letting out a sigh of annoyance. Although Hardison and Chaos were mortal enemies, they had one irrefutable thing in common. Both felt that they were much more valuable to the team than they were given credit. Maybe it was true, but none of the group wanted to deal with hackers once they started bragging about how skilled they were.

"Is it at least possible?" Caroline posed, not ready to give up on the idea.

"Hypothetically, yes, but I'm not a magician. It's not like I can just use my magic wand and make it work." Chaos argued.

"Damn it Chaos." Eliot stormed up to the front of the RV and grabbed the wheel with one hand and pulled Chaos from the driver's seat. Big Lucy dropped speed and swerved a bit as Eliot got situated in the seat, but he was soon in control and looked back over at an offended Chaos.

"Go fix it then!" Eliot barked and Chaos snarled and barged away to the kitchen table.

Chaos managed to position himself comfortably in the seat across from Parker and took the device out of its bag. Once all the pieces were sitting in front of the table he gave a big preparatory breath and leaned himself over to the bathroom door and gave it a hard knock.

"Got any ideas Hardison?" Chaos joked as a loud roar was heard from inside the bathroom followed by a loud thump. Parker gave him an angry glare and he began by lifting the protective plastic cover to reveal a myriad of different colored wires, miniature mother boards and a variety of pieces of technology that no one other than Chaos was familiar with.

"What if the electric fence thing doesn't work? How are we going to have enough people to protect the air vent and go inside and fight off the zombies fifty feet below the earth?" Dr. Craver asked. "It's suicide!"

Everyone rolled their eyes again, but knew he was right. What was more important; keeping people from dying above ground, or finding the vial below ground?

"Well, if Chaos can't fix this now, he will have to keep working at the base. So he will have to stay up top." Nate said.

"I can't go down with my leg. You need a runner down there." Eliot called from up front. "I'll stay up top and help hold the barrier."

Sophie smirked. It was like high school where everyone picked sides. Which one were you most likely to win on? This time she felt as though no matter which side you chose, you were dooming yourself for different kinds of danger and death.

"I'll grab the vials." Parker said with a sinister look in her eye. Nate caught this look and from what he had gathered from Chaos, she would want to do more than collect the vials from Sterling, she wanted to kill him.

"I will go with her. Sterling trusts me still." Mikel said, but Nate shook his head.

"No, I need another strong fighter up top. I'll go with Parker." He said with finality. Mikel shrugged and looked back out of her window again. Everything along the road was cast in dark shadows. The rain was sending small droplets, nothing too severe, but the sky was welcoming an ominous danger.

"And us?" Sophie asked Nate motioning between herself and Caroline.

"You stay in the RV with Dr. Craver. It will be safest for you inside."

Sophie made to nod, but was immediately cut short as she watched Caroline fervently shake her head.

"I'm not hiding in the RV. I'm going out to fight." Her voice cracked and her face was void of youthful apprehension.

"This is ridiculous." Dr. Craver said. "You are all going to die!"

Parker jumped out of her seat and took a quick step up to Dr. Craver.

"Don't you get it!" She yelled. "We don't care if we die. We care if you get the vials and save everyone else!" She was waving her hands wildly fed up with the disapproving doctor.

He clamped his mouth shut looking up hesitantly at Parker.

Nate interceded. "You are staying in here anyway, we need you alive to combine the cures."

Dr. Craver was not about to send any more pessimistic words their way, knowing that Parker and Mikel's temper were about to send him in an eternal sleep.

"We're almost here." Eliot called from the front seat. He watched the tall fences with barbed wire pass by him on the left, looking for an entrance. Everything was silent and for a moment he hoped that the base would be abandoned.

The group hushed and looked out of the windows as Eliot slowed to a stop. He turned left into the entrance road where the front gate lay broken on the ground.

Eliot turned the front lights off and dropped his speed to a slow crawl. Everyone remained silent as they passed by barracks and different sized buildings. If the zombies were here, they were hidden well.

Eliot finally rolled to a stop right at the large cylindrical air vent at the center of the base. It was in a large grassy field, just like Dr. Craver said it would be.

Everyone quickly pulled long sleeved shirts and jackets from the overhead compartment knowing they would need to be as protected as possible. Mikel and Eliot followed by grabbing as many hand-to-hand combat weapons as they could and brought them outside.

Mikel and Eliot felt the crisp air and surveyed the area. Everything was silent, no zombies, no humans, no life. Parker followed up behind them with another load of weapons.

"What do you think?" Parker whispered to Eliot.

"I don't know." He answered looking around. "They could still be here, but if we stay quiet, we might stand a chance."

Parker nodded climbing back into the RV.

"Chaos, how does it look?" Her face was scrunched up trying to decipher why he would clip a wire here and reattach it there. He stood up and pulled out more wires from the overhead bins and began to sift through the jumble.

"I don't know yet." He said keeping his focus on his task. "The fence part of it should work if I can get the main hub to transmit on that particular frequency at a particular voltage."

"Well, then I will set the boundary up." Caroline interrupted. Chaos looked up at her and smiled. She gave a quick glint of a smile and then quickly snatched up the fencing perimeter and left the RV.

Sophie continued to reassure Dr. Craver and discuss with Nate how everything would work. Parker left knowing that soon they would need to say their final goodbyes.

It was something that everyone was avoiding, but no one was willing to admit just yet. This was really and truly a suicide mission. It wasn't likely that they would get the vials and it was almost a sure bet that they would not make it out of this ordeal alive.

Her body wracked with pain as she realized that she could not hug Hardison goodbye; could not tell him what he meant to her.

After another five minutes of preparations everything was set. The RV protected the group from behind as a back wall limiting the amount of angles the zombies could attack from. Weapons were set up in stacks of five or ten all around so if anyone needed to grab something it would be within arm's reach. Chaos had himself kneeled next to the RV still feverously working on fixing the perimeter.

"Caroline, Sophie, over here." Eliot ordered. Eliot, Mikel, Sophie and Caroline all huddled discussing their strategy as Parker and Nate prepared the rope and harnesses from which they would drop down.

"Mikel and I will take the front. I expect if we see any zombies, they will be heading from the main buildings there and there..." He pointed across the way to two larger buildings. "Or there." He guided his index finger over to the barracks.

Caroline and Sophie nodded.

"I need the two of you to protect Chaos. If he has enough time to fix the electric fence it will help all of us."

Caroline nodded and Sophie looked over at the busy Chaos and gave a nod. The idea of protecting him tasted like vinegar.

Mikel looked up to the sky as she felt a few splashes of rain on her jacket. The other members of the group followed suit.

"It begins." She said ominously as the rain began its quickening descent to earth.

"We're ready." Parker said as she and Nate were fully harnassed and they were ready to open the sealed metal vent.

The large cylinder had a metal covering over it which was held shut by a coded box on the top. Nate immediately gathered that they would need a passcode. Unfortunately, after another snide comment from Dr. Craver asking how he was supposed to know about a passcode to a vent, followed by another premonition of their impending death Nate figured they would probably just need to break it open and push the metal cover off. The only thing that caused his hairs to stand on end were the words painted on the covering. 'DANGER! DO NOT OPEN! DANGER!'

"This is it." Sophie said to Nate as she looked him longingly in the eyes.

Nate remained silent as he pushed a lock of her hair from the side of her face. "This is not it, Sophie."

Sophie nodded, but Nate could tell she wasn't so sure this time.

"You know that I love you more than anything or anyone else in the world, right?" Nate asked her as he lifted her chin up.

She closed her eyes and gave a small smile.

"Forever." Nate said quietly, but with enough emotion that Sophie moved in and pressed her lips against his. They stayed this way embracing the feeling, not knowing if they would ever get the chance to feel it again.

Parker, who had been nearby watching the embracing couple, ached to see Hardison one last time. She even got to the RV door when she stopped herself. A single hidden tear ran down her face as she clutched the door handle.

"Parker." She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was firm and she knew who it was immediately.

She turned to see Eliot's strong, brotherly figure standing there looking down at her. She knew it was useless hiding her feelings from him.

Eliot made to say something else, but no words came out. There was really nothing to say. Their relationship was based on reality, not hope and fantasy. Both knew that it would be ridiculous to say that everything would be okay in the end.

Parker moved up to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He followed suit by embracing her in a bear hug. Each took a moment to appreciate the family they had formed. Everything after this moment was unknown, but for now, they were family.

After a moment each pulled back and moved about their business as if nothing had happened.

"Are we ready?" Nate asked. Everyone had grabbed a weapon. Even Chaos pulled an axe next to his makeshift workstation.

"Ready." Everyone chorused in low undertones.

Nate took a deep breath, raised his bat and smashed the passcode box.

The effect was immediate and caught everyone by surprise.

A deafening emergency siren issued from their location.

Nate's eyes widened in panic. Caroline and Sophie grabbed for their ears, squinting in pain as their eardrums pounded.

Then, from every angle zombies could be heard howling and moaning in the distance.

Chaos's face was ashen as he looked around in alarm.

"Guess keeping a low profile is out of the question!" Mikel yelled to Eliot who grabbed for another weapon.

"Get Parker and Eliot down the airshaft!" He yelled back as the group quickly pushed the metal covering off of the vent.

Parker and Nate had already knotted their ropes off and were ready to fly down the vent into impending darkness.

Parker looked at Eliot, then Chaos, then Caroline and Sophie. Without a word she dropped down into the unknown abyss and out of sight.

Nate gave a last longing look at Sophie, mouthing a soft goodbye and jumped down behind Parker disappearing from sight.

The rain began to pour harder and harder. Pellets of water slashing against their jackets and soaking their jeans. Chaos wiped away his brow as he continued to focus trying to cover the main electric fence box from the rain.

Sophie and Caroline hovered in the back, watching Chaos's flanks as zombies poured out from the same buildings as Eliot had predicted.

"So, I will go easy on you." Mikel said with a laugh. "You are at a disadvantage." She pointed her shovel at Eliot's leg.

Eliot gave her a challenging look with an evil glint. Though they had never verbalized the challenge both were preparing to compete against one another in a zombie killing spree. Whoever killed the most zombies would forever be able to hold it over the other's head.

"Bring it on." Eliot said with a bloodthirsty grin.

Both turned their attention to the oncoming horde ready for the fight of their lives.


	27. Chapter 27

Author's Note:

Hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. Hope the suspense lives up to your expectations, but here's a little bit of back story. Did anyone ever wonder why Sophie was kidnapped? Well here you go!

Aliasmarie, Hoellenwauwau and Koxie: Love you guys! Thanks for the reviews! I think the emotion was important, sounds like you did too. :)

Please let me know what you think! R&R!

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><p><span>Chapter 27:<span>

_6 years ago: _

_Parker sat wide-eyed at the edge of the couch in between both Eliot and Hardison. Eliot was relaxed grabbing a handful of popcorn from the large bowl sitting in his lap and filling his mouth. Hardison was distracted, spending his time pressing buttons on his phone, half paying attention to the movie and half lazily trying to hack into the mainframe of a company from their latest job. _

"_Is that true?" Parker asked in disbelief as she leaned herself forward toward the big screen television. _

_Eliot looked over at Hardison with an evil grin. Hardison rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the phone. _

_The lights from the television flickered and cast flashes and shadows across the room. _

"_It is." Eliot said with as much seriousness as he could muster. _

_Parker snapped her head around to look at him straight in the eye. He sat up defensively, surprised by her questioning gaze._

"_Really?" She asked again suspiciously. Her innocence in this matter was amusing and Eliot couldn't help himself. _

"_Really." He said looking her dead in the eye. "He's got one." _

_Parker's mouth formed an "o" shape and Eliot could see the wheels in her mind turning. _

_Parker swiftly stood up, turned to say something, thought better of it and left Nate's apartment without another word. The door slammed as Parker disappeared into the night. _

_Eliot chuckled and glanced over at Hardison who was giving him a dirty look. _

"_Why did you have to do that?" Hardison complained. Now, not only was the space next to him suddenly cold, but the two men who never got along were stuck in a dark room watching a movie together…alone. _

"_She's fine. I'm just having some fun." _

_Hardison rolled his eyes. _

"_You can only cry wolf so many times before it comes back and bites you in the ass." Hardison admonished. _

"_Honestly, Hardison. Do you really think she is going to go out in search of this book? Give it a few days and she will move on to the next thing." Eliot grabbed for another handful of popcorn and gave himself a self-assuring nod. He continued with his mouth full. "It's a movie for goodness sake."_

"_She still believes there are aliens at Area 51, that vampires are real and that if she had had an address when she was eleven, she would have received an invitation to Hogwarts." Hardison looked over at him pointedly as if to spell out that Eliot was the cause of Parker's delusions. Eliot shrugged. _

_Hardison finally gave one last attempt at having Eliot take responsibility. "If she gets caught in Library of Congress searching for the President's Book of Secrets you are the one who will have to go get her." _

_Hardison knew from personal experience that when Parker felt strongly about something, she would go to no end to satisfy her curiosity. She even went to the extent of breaking into his home to find out what he kept in his personal vault. He wasn't quite sure Eliot understood her unyielding determination._

"_It's fine." Eliot said as he continued to watch the remainder of the movie. Hardison shook his head one last time and was quickly distracted by some information popping up on his screen. _

_Eleven Months Later:_

_Parker's voice hitched as she leapt into the air in excitement, her chair flying back onto the floor. Her painstaking and tedious research had finally paid off. For the past eight months, ever since the movie, Parker had been on a personal mission. Whenever the group had a break in between cons she would waste no time to follow up on leads, check sources, and verify facts about the mysterious book. It consumed her thoughts from the time she woke up until the minute she fell asleep. Hardison was even getting frustrated with her for spending so much time on her own. For the beginning half of her research everything was rumor and conjecture. At one point she was about to give up, but after the eighth month she got some information that broke the rumors and ideas wide open. There really was a book and she could get at it. _

_She determined the location of the book three months before, but the challenge wasn't finding the book, it was getting at the book. The small book that would answer all of her questions was nestled secretly in The White House. She would not only have to get inside, but get out without alerting anyone._

_She knew she couldn't ask Nate and the team to help. Nate would chastise her for wanting to steal for personal gain and Eliot and Hardison would just make fun of her for pouring so much energy into a book from a movie. Eliot would try to convince her that there really wasn't a book that shared the President's secrets of all major events in history. She figured even Sophie would be skeptical and use her verbal powers to push Parker into submission. No, this was something she would do on her own. _

_After that three month planning session she had everything calculated, every time, every guard, and every piece of electronic equipment that would stand in her way. _

_The day of her own personal heist came and went with success. She had successfully avoided all major challenges, had found the book hidden away in a subbasement, and had made it back to her hideout before anyone had noticed. There was only one moment when she was worried that the cameras might have spotted her, but nothing had come of it. _

_Her hands shook as she sat up straight at her desk, pulling her chair up, salivating at the idea of knowing the secrets of the world. _

_The book was made of velum and used a faded ink. The pages curled slightly around the edges and she could tell immediately that this was an artifact of at least three hundred years. Even the binding was tender. She didn't want to make any mistakes. This book had no minimum value, it was priceless. It sat proud in front of her like an elder ready to tell a story. Her eyes glazed over as she imagined what she would find. She, Parker, would no longer be a victim or a curious bystander of the mysteries of the world. Knowledge was the same thing as money and after she finished reading this, her knowledge would be worth billions. When apprehending the relic, she transported it in a blue cloth which now sat spread out on her desk. _

_She grinned silently praising herself for keeping this a secret for so long. She was ready to finally know more about the most controversial secrets of the world than even the highest officials in the United States…and more than Eliot or Hardison. That in itself made it worth it to her._

_Her heart thumped in her chest as she slowly reached to open the front cover of the book. Touching the cover a euphoric sensation spread over her. She gently flipped the cover over. Everything in the room went silent as she began to read, soaking every word up like a sponge. _

_Three months later: _

"_What's going on?" Parker asked as she entered Nate's apartment. _

_Both Eliot and Hardison were already there. Hardison sat focused on the computer screen typing diligently away. _

"_It's Sophie. She's missing." Eliot called to her and went back to his conversation on the phone. _

_Parker watched Nate pace around the room with a wild expression. _

"_She was supposed to meet me at the airport yesterday afternoon." Nate spoke with a high pitched tone and a nervous speed to his voice. "She wasn't there and I haven't been able to get in contact with her since." Nate said now beginning to bite at a fingernail. _

_Parker was shocked. They weren't even in the midst of a con, why would Sophie be in D.C. and what could have happened to her?_

"_I'll call Tara." Parker said knowing that the blonde grifter always kept tabs on her fellow sister grifter. It made Parker jealous at times, but if she knew what happened, it would be worth it. _

"_Already did." Hardison answered. "She hasn't seen her." _

"_I had her go to Washington D.C." Nate said. _

"_D.C.?" Eliot asked Nate. _

_Nate cleared his throat. "Yeah, there were some irregularities in our latest cases. Hardison caught some IP addresses fishing trying to infiltrate our databases. Obviously they didn't get in, but were able to trace one back to Washington D.C. Since there wasn't much to go on, Sophie said she would take a quick trip up and do some research." _

_Parker's blood ran cold. This couldn't have anything to do with the book, could it? She was careful and the chatter within federal circles had dropped dead not more than a week after the heist and had been quiet ever since. She brushed off the idea that this had something to do with her, it could be anything. They had plenty of enemies. Her mind logically removed the fear from her body, but a sinking feeling deep in her gut took hold and wouldn't let go. _

"_Why didn't you say something before?" Parker now forgetting her worry became frustrated by the lack of communication between the team. How could Nate leave her out of the loop? She would have been the best for a recon mission like this. She noticed Eliot give the same frustrated glare. He was obviously also upset that he wasn't notified of the infiltration. _

"_Look, it wasn't a big deal and there wasn't much to go on. I didn't want to worry you if I didn't have to." Nate said, trying to reassure his group. It was obvious that he cared less about their feelings and more about Sophie._

"_Well, now what?" Eliot asked hanging up his phone. He had obviously found nothing. _

"_I need you to see if any of your contacts have heard something…anything." Nate said desperately. _

_Eliot nodded rubbing his arm and looking up trying to recall anyone in DC that he could call on. Parker nodded as well, despite the fact that she didn't have any contacts. She worked alone. _

_Parker immediately turned on her heels and exited the apartment. Her body filled with nerves. She needed to get the book back to the White House; she needed to make sure Sophie was safe. She smacked her forehead a few times with her palm feeling so stupid and selfish for stealing the book. In her heart, she knew that it was the reason Sophie was missing. It was her fault. _

_Three days later:_

"_Nate?" Parker asked. _

_His face was swollen and they were alone in the apartment. Neither Hardison nor Eliot had arrived yet. She closed the door cautiously as she glanced over at the video screen was smashed with cracks across the screen like tendrils all closing in at a center circle. She could tell it was a perfect space for Nate's fist. Something was very wrong._

"_Nate?" Parker asked again as she took slow steps up to him. He didn't move. She kept her distance._

"_I got a call." Nate said. His voice was hollow and his throat was dry. He stared blankly at the far wall. _

_Parker froze, feeling chills slide up her veins, and her face went white. She had sent the book back overnight three days ago and had made sure that it was delivered from a post office four hours away. It had taken her all night but she had done it. _

"_And?" Parker asked breathlessly. Was Sophie safe? By the look of it, that was not the answer she would receive. _Did I get Sophie killed?

"_They want to trade." _

_Parker froze. "What?" She could barely whisper. Did they rat her out? Did they tell Nate what she stole? Did the book even get back to them? These questions flew through her mind beyond the speed of light. _

"_What's wrong?" Hardison asked bursting through the doorway followed by a worried Eliot right behind him. Nate had obviously texted them as well. _

"_They contacted me." Nate repeated with the same hollow tone. _

"_Okay." Eliot added expectantly. The room was dark and it was late in the day. Eliot rounded around the couch and sat next to Nate._

_Nate threw the phone to Hardison to see if he could trace it. Hardison immediately went to work pressing buttons._

"_They want to trade Sophie for something from the Pentagon. A document." Nate paused. "I need you two to go in and get it." His voice was cold and distant. _

_Parker's face was ashen knowing that Sophie must be in perilous danger if Nate is willing to barge into the Pentagon so rashly. Parker knew it took three months to plan her way into the White House; the Pentagon would be even more difficult with less time. _

"_Okay." Both Eliot and Parker answered without hesitation. _

Down the Vent:

The blaring noise shook her brain, but the further she flew down the cool gunmetal vent the further away the noise faded. After another few seconds her feet gently touched ground.

She heard Nate's weight touch down behind her moments later. She didn't bother turning around. Both knew what they had to do. Both knew whose lives hung in the balance, especially after the blaring noise alerted the zombies within five miles of their location.

Quickly unbuckling the rope from her waist something on the floor caught her attention.

"Nate." Parker said quickly, kneeling to the floor. She touched the base of the floor with her hand, rubbing the grey substance between her fingers. Nate followed, smelling the semi-solid substance, being cautious. Anything down here could be dangerous and could have strands of the infection. There was a reason that scientists kept the blood testing underground, not that it much mattered anymore.

"Cement?" She asked.

Nate nodded though curious how quickly it dried to his skin.

They decided to ignore the grey semi-solid liquid that was being pushed out of hundreds of microscopic holes in the wall and went straight up to the door, turned the round handle and pulled the metal door open.

To their surprise the grey cement liquid was pouring into the halls at an alarming rate. As they stepped in, lights flickered and they caught sight of zombies in lab coats stumbling against walls then sliding to the ground as they slowly became coated in the graying liquid.

"What the hell is going on?" Parker asked. When she imagined what she would see down here, this was not it. The zombies seemed to be just as confused as she was.

"It's a security measure." Nate said, finally understanding the sight before him. "We disrupted the security system. It looks like in the case of a breach the facility fills up with fast acting cement."

"What?" Parker asked in disbelief.

"I'm gathering that in the case of a breach, no one would be allowed to leave." Nate said with apprehension. The zombies finally caught whiff of the two humans thirty feet down the hallway and started their slow staggering approach to Nate and Parker.

"So now we are on a time limit?" Parker yelled in disbelief throwing her arms in the air. Her patience level was reaching its breaking point. It appeared as though the liquid was filling the hallways fast. There were so many holes in the wall that they became coated with the grey semi-solid fluid. Both knew they wouldn't have much time to find the vials and get out before the place filled up and they drowned in cement.

Nate didn't respond to her frustrated statement and they slowly picked up their pace as they moved down the hallway. It was growing more difficult to move. Parker and Nate had to pull their feet from the suction of the cement on the floor. This cement wasn't like anything she'd seen before. Even only on her shoes, the glue slowed her down substantially. Her mind refocused on why she was there and she ignored her small complaints and kept moving.

A zombie with white hair moaned as it turned into the hallway from a room to the left. His lab coat was smeared in blood and he was lurching desperately to make his way over to them to bite into their flesh and appease his primal nature. Nate moved forward first and slammed his axe into the zombies head. Blood spurted out of his brain. The zombie squealed and crumpled to the floor. Nate's jacket was spattered with the off colored blood but he kept moving forward slashing and hacking anyone that got in their way. Parker was surprised at his determination, but appreciated it none the less.

Parker kept checking rooms, but knew from what Dr. Craver said they had to get deep into the belly of the whale before they found the room with the final vial. Meanwhile the grey cement was filling the corridors, closets and office spaces at a compounded rate. The moving liquid was now up to her ankles and both Parker and Nate struggled to keep moving in the cement. It was like a blob trying to pull them to a stop.

In one room Parker noticed the sides of the walls where the cement was already hardening. Her face grew dim. She understood what this meant, not only could they drown, they could be stuck in place before their bodies were even fully submerged. Their prospects were growing murkier by the second.

"Parker!" Nate yelled from the hall. She trudged her way there as the cement filled her shoes.

She pulled her legs and moved out into the corridor to find Nate surrounded by zombies flailing and swimming their way to him. Parker lifted her legs out of the cement and charged herself over to Nate. He was focused on the frontal assault but she caught sight of a zombie rounding on him from behind. She appreciated the fact that it wasn't just Nate and herself that were sluggish due to the cement, the zombies were subjected to the same challenge. It gave her just enough time to push herself through the slop and send her axe in its back. It let out a bloodcurdling scream as Nate rounded and slammed his own axe through its neck. The zombie was immediately decapitated, the head dropping into the rising cement ocean. Parker watched taking deep breaths as the head slowly sunk into the grey depths. It's lost stare embedding itself into her mind as it submerged underwater.

The two zombie killers didn't have time to breath before another grouping of zombies barreled at them. Now the zombies seemed to be coated in the wet cement. Parker watched as their faces slowly dried out and moaned desperately. She gave a grateful prayer that she had worn her jacket, thick pants and thick shoes. They managed to keep the tightening cement from attaching to their skin and causing the pulling pain that seemed to be happening so quickly to the zombie in the skirt.

The hallway finally came to a split and the cement was sliding up their legs. The air was becoming thick and Parker let out a painful cough.

Nate looked at her with a worried expression. His mind whirred as he thought of what might be happening above ground. _Drown in cement or get eaten by hordes of zombies?_

"This way!" Parker said as she pointed with her axe toward the darkened sign. Nate could barely make out the words, 'Blood Lab'.

Nate and Parker quickly made their way down the left corridor as the cement now grasped like death clawing at their hips. Each knew that time and oxygen was quickly disappearing.

Parker kept trying to hike her knees above the thick glue to keep a quick enough pace but Nate was slowing down. She gave a frustrated yell. They couldn't die in here, they had to find the vials, and they had to save Hardison.

Her eyes began to tear as hope seemed to be disappearing beneath the cement depths.

Her mind became fuzzy. She assumed the cement fumes were starting to have a big impact on her. Her mind slanted and things went off balance slightly. Her mind focused on the signs on the door throwing her axe in every direction when she heard the moan or cry of a flesh eater.

She took an extra moment to stare at the door sign up ahead. She wracked her brain for the meaning of hemoglobin, erythrocyte, leukocyte and blastocyte. Underneath the foreign words it added 'Reserves Lab'.

"Nate." Parker said. "NATE!" Parker called out again. Nate was getting dizzy as well. "This is it! In here!"

Her mind was whirring with excitement and the hope rebounded in her as she shoved herself into the large room.

She could see the graying liquid filled up the room same as on the outside, but she could make out the beakers still sitting on the tops of the tables and on the far end, two men huddled around an open refrigerator door which Parker could tell held a variety of vials.

With one heart stopping moment Parker recognized the man on the right and what he had in his hand.

"Parker. You really are very determined." The British voice was slick but lacked any sense of humor. He was on a mission just as she was and he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

The foggy cement was now at her waist due to her small stature. She wasn't backing down, she was taking it. Her mind sent another electrical charge through her body as she spotted what was in Sterling's other hand.

"The box." She whispered. Nate quickly pushed himself into the room coming to the same suspenseful conclusions.

Sterling's tall bodyguard looked at them with venom dripping from his fangs and a murderous glint in his eye. His biceps were bursting from his shirt.

"Kill her." Sterling said without remorse. The bodyguard lifted his gun up to her eye level and everything dropped into slow motion. She wasn't sure if she was going crazy or whether she actually heard Nate scream in the background but one thing was for certain; she did hear the unmistakable and deafening gunshot that sent a spray of bullets to take her life.


	28. Chapter 28

_Author's Note:_

Next chapter up! I wasn't actually going to write the first part of this chapter, but since everyone wanted to know how Chaos, Eliot and Parker became a team, I decided to add it into the story. :)

AliasMarie: If anyone could find the President's secret book, it's Parker for sure. And thanks for the cliffie compliment! I can't even help myself anymore. I don't think any chapter is complete without something suspenseful at the end. :)

wolfofsheep: yay! thank you! I'm so glad you are back!

hoellenwauwau: What part is the Monster vs. Aliens reference? I reeeally want to know. It wasn't intentional, but I love that movie and I can't figure out where I (unintentionally) referenced it. lol. :D

bwaller147: At first I only added flashbacks to build suspense, but I think they've been growing on me throughout the story. There is so much that could be explored. I'm glad you are enjoying them. I think there will have to be at least another Parker/Hardison flashback soon. I feel like I have neglected those too in these later chapters.

Koxie: Your notes always make me laugh. I'm not trying to torture you I promise! Eliot/Sophie/Nate don't know that it was Parker's fault. But it was sort of everyone's fault. Do you think I should have them find out? I can't decide. It will definitely cause some trouble if they do.

Anyway, I love, love, love you guys. Your feedback is a tremendous help. You are the best!

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><p><em><span>Chapter 28:<span>_

"_Don't tell me…" Eliot winced. _

_Both he and Parker had been trapped in the mainframe room for twenty-seven minutes. Parker was feverishly typing away at one of the computer stations. The room was dark but emitted dull green lights that allowed him to see the outline of most of the servers. Eliot discerned that they were in big trouble. _

"_Parker." Eliot repeated. He knew she was ignoring him. _

"_SHHH!" She snapped sending an aggravated look his way. She flipped back to her typing. _

_Every so often Eliot would hear a beep and see something flash red on the computer screen. The apprehension in his stomach continued to grow. The small room gave off a burnt smell alerting Eliot to the fact that these systems were working far harder than they should. From what little he'd learned about computers over the past few years, he grasped that processors and CPU's need to stay cool if they are to function efficiently. Unfortunately, it looked as though these computers wouldn't be able to handle the strain much longer. _

_Another loud beep emitted from Parker's computer and she let out a shrill shriek and slammed her small fist against the keyboard. Consequently, another beep vibrated from the computer and the dusty screen immediately went black. Parker stared at it for a moment astonished. Her shell-shocked features remained motionless, unsure of how the world could so conveniently be transpiring against her. Eliot stood behind the blonde, hoping the black screen merely meant she had hacked the system and was ready to lead them to safety. _

_Parker spun around in place and sent Eliot a sharp look. _

"_Parker…?" His voice was cautious and his optimism was vanishing at an expedient rate. _

"_I don't understand." Parker mumbled more to herself than to Eliot. She paced back and forth trying to retrace the steps that led her to this point and what kind of mistake she could have made in the process. "I had it mapped out perfectly. Everything was accounted for; every detail." _

"_Well, we obviously missed something, didn't we?" Eliot said sardonically. Parker shot him a nasty look. _

"_We need to figure out how to get this computer back online." Parker ordered, taking two slender strides back over to the computer station, and then proceeding to lean behind it to evaluate how the computer connected to the servers. _

_The distant sound of sirens blared and the alarms drew unyieldingly closer. _

"_What we need is a Hack-" Eliot started, but his words were immediately sliced from his throat as Parker sent him a murderous look. _

_It had been just over a year since the unspeakable happened, but Parker's wounds were as fresh as ever. And lately, her mood seemed to become more volatile when she was around computers. Unfortunately, Eliot was not as gifted with technology as she was, so when they ran into technological roadblocks, she was the one to fix them. _

_Eliot walked over to the painting they had just stolen. It was a Gustav Klimt. Eliot preferred sculptures over paintings, and neither wanted to rekindle the memory of their former team stealing a Klimt for an elderly man and his wife, but this one had such a hefty price tag that they agreed to retrieve it. After the prison break, both Parker and he had gone completely off the grid. They were considered terrorists and hunted mercilessly. For the first time he was appreciative that she was so secretive about where she lived. Even back when they were a team Parker was very elusive about her home base. It wasn't like her to invite anyone into her space. He wasn't even sure if Hardison was privy to all of her hideouts despite their growing relationship during that time. After the event that shattered the team, Parker took Eliot back to one of her safe houses where they stayed for months slowly recuperating from the physical and emotional turmoil they had recently experienced. _

_Finally after almost nine months of watching every television show available on Netflix and eating countless boxes of cereal, they decided it was time to get some money. Their non-traceable funds were evaporating quickly and each knew they needed a new stream of cash. Any activity in their normal accounts would alert the authorities and any activity in their alias accounts where Hardison typically deposited their cash would be watched by their former team. Both knew they needed to start fresh. _

_So here they were, stuck in a building with a Starenko Security System and no way out. They were already confined to three levels of the skyscraper and it was only a matter of time before the security guards identified their location._

_Parker raked her fingers through her hair. Everything was wrong. Did the people who tortured her take away more than just her trust in people? Did they take away her ability to thieve? Parker didn't have time to contemplate this when she caught sight of something pop up on the black computer screen. _

_The green typing was simple. _

'_Hello Parker.' _

_Parker froze in place. Her breath caught in her throat. Eliot was obviously not paying attention, but she was. Someone was watching them; someone with a technological expertise. _

_Her mind immediately flew to Hardison. Was he here? Was he ready to betray her again? Her mind flung itself back and forth in an emotional battle. _

_She took one step up to the computer, the tips of her fingers gently resting on the keyboard. The blood in her veins ran cold despite the rising temperature in the room. Everything had gone silent. Eliot must be watching. _

_Her fingers slowly clicked away, returning a message to the mysterious contact. _

'_Who are you?' She typed back. The sirens in the background were loud. _They must be right outside now.

_There was a long pause as she waited for a response. _

'_I can get you out.'_

_Her body tensed. Trust. It was much more than a word and that would be all she would have to go on if she were to rely on this mysterious figure. She could tell Eliot was right behind her now. He was speechless. _

_Parker began typing again. 'What do you want?'_

_Parker was sure it was no coincidence that whoever this was wasn't in the game for charity. He wanted something in return. Was it to turn them in? Was it to steal the painting once they got out? Parker wasn't sure, but one thing she was sure about; this might be their only option for escape. _

_New text appeared on the screen. Both Eliot and Parker read it. _

'_Split profits from the Klimt, three ways.' _

_Parker looked over at Eliot. She could tell that his mind was spinning, strategically trying to think of any other way. Could they rely on this stranger to get them out alive? _

_Something else popped up on the screen before they could respond. _

'_The Starenko has locked the guards into your floor. They will be at your door in 50 seconds.'_

_Parker bit her lip, sent an apprehensive look over at the Klimt and calculated in her mind. What's $40 million divided by three. She tilted her head relenting that the remainder wouldn't be too shabby. _

_Parker paused for a moment waiting for a rebuttal from Eliot. She got none. _

'_Deal.' Was all she wrote. _

_Immediately, schematics popped up on the screen highlighting a green route weaving itself throughout the blueprint of the building. _

_Parker hated the fact that yet again, it was all about trust. Was this green line their escape or directions straight the police? _

_The blueprint blacked out on the screen and was replaced with a single word. _

'_NOW.'_

_Without hesitation, Parker went to the door; Eliot followed right behind grabbing the framed Klimt and they exited the mainframe room. _

_Both raced along the memorized pathway, once or twice having to stop due to a passing guard, but quickly made their way through the building undetected. Parker struggled to determine whether her heart hoped or dreaded the idea of Hardison being the technological genius who was helping them to escape. _

_After a few suspenseful minutes escaping the skyscraper, both Eliot and Parker were free, taking a breath of fresh air as the sunlight streamed onto their faces. _

_As they raced around the building to their nearby getaway vehicle Parker was pulled to a stop by a cell phone sitting alone on a bench ten feet away. It rang three times before she walked over and picked it up. _

_Eliot continued on, stashing the Klimt painting into the trunk and hollering at Parker to hurry up. _

_Parker ignored him and looked down at the phone. _

_The text was plain and to the point:_

'_Sell the painting. Deliver my cut. 8pm. Two weeks from today on the Horse Carousel.' _

"_Parker!" Eliot yelled, motioning her to get in the vehicle. _

_Parker considered just skipping out on the strangers demands, since they were no longer in any threat, but before she could shrug her shoulders the phone rang again. _

'_If you don't deliver, the cops will be the least of your worries.'_

_She wrinkled her nose in frustration then jogged over to the car while simultaneously disassembling the phone. She learned long ago that phones were an easy way to be traced. _

_Two Weeks Later:_

"_I don't know about this." Eliot said as he bit into a corndog. _

_Parker surveyed the area. The sun was setting and she had spent the last two hours scouting out potential hideouts for their contact. _

_There had been zero contact between themselves and the stranger, but Parker knew by the text she had received, the mystery man or woman had not forgotten about the meeting. The painting sold quickly and the money was stashed away where only the two of them knew of its location. _

"_I guess we stand over by the Carousel." Parker said appraisingly. She watched as the empty carousel lit the area. They were in a park and most of the kids had gone. The horses on the carousel gave her an uneasy feeling ever since she watched a horse kill a clown all those years ago. _

"_I think we get on the Carousel." Eliot corrected her. _

_Parker crossed her arms. "Not going to happen." _

"_They aren't real, Parker. Let's just get this over with." Eliot's voice was brotherly, but he was in no mood for her shenanigans. _

_He managed to shuffle her up onto the horse Carousel. They stood uncomfortably as the music played and they spun around and around. _

_Parker looked at her watch getting more agitated by the second. Her body was tense and the smell of dusk settled over the area. She knew why their suspicious friend chose the evening. Apparently, the bright lights on the Carousel allowed anyone to see them, but blockaded them from seeing out into the darkness. They were sitting ducks. She immediately regretted this decision. _

"_Well, hello again." _

_The hairs on Parker's neck immediately stood on end. While she was simultaneously dreading and hoping to hear Hardison's voice, it was by no means what she received. The slimy, screechy voice filled her eardrums and immediately evoked a bubbling aggravation. _

_Eliot had only needed to hear the first few syllables escape the man's mouth before he had rounded on their stranger and slammed him up against one of the horses. _

_A strangled voice with flailing arms tried to slap Eliot away, but honestly, who could slap Eliot away in the first place?_

_Parker chuckled as she walked around the horse to see Chaos's red face and wide eyes. His back was arched backward against the white horse's saddle. _

"_So it was you?" Parker rubbed her chin. _

_Chaos's face was turning purple and Eliot was not ready to let go. Parker finally indicated that he should lighten his grip. After another moment of relishing the pain he was inflicting on the weasel, he finally let Chaos stand. _

"_Asshole!" Chaos barked as he erupted into a long fit of coughs. Eventually, after another few moments, and another thirty dollars to the conductor to keep the Carousel moving, Chaos continued. "That's what I get for saving your asses?"_

_Parker and Eliot gave him a merciless look. Chaos changed tactics, knowing he would receive little sympathy from these two. _

"_Where's my money?" Chaos demanded shoving his hands on his hips. _

"_It's safe." Eliot replied. "How do we know the minute you get your money, you won't turn on us?" _

"_Because I have a business proposition for you." Chaos proposed with determination. _

_Both Eliot and Parker looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. Parker was sure she had heard him wrong. _

"_That's hilarious." Eliot without a hint of laughter. _

"_I'm serious! Let's be a team." Chaos persisted. _

_Parker had to lean forward for this one. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was like they had jumped into an alternate reality where everything was flipped on its side and nothing made sense. _

_Parker's mouth bobbed open and shut, unable to reply to such an unearthly request. Of all the situations she anticipated happening on this mission, this was beyond the last she had expected. _

_Chaos, obviously realizing how ridiculous it sounded, continued with his sales pitch. _

"_We all heard what happened. What Nate did to you?" Eliot sent an elbow into his gut causing him to double over. Chaos grabbed for his stomach, feeling the sharp pain, but continued none the less. _

"_You are obviously incapable of running a high stakes con without a hacker, and since Hardison isn't joining in-" before he could finish the sentence Parker sent a fist to his jaw. She was seeing red and his name evoked such a fury in her she wanted to destroy the person who made her thoughts go back to that dark time. _

_Chaos held up his hand in defeat. Being beat up by a woman was not on his list of things to do that day. _

"_What I mean is…" he held up his hands defensively, prepared for another blow, "I'm out of options. I can't join up on any top operations because no one will trust me to join their team…because of the last time."_

"_You mean when you tried to kill Marcus Stark?" Eliot asked. _

_Chaos nodded anticipating some sort of reaction. _

_They stared at him, unsurprised by his admission, waiting for him to continue with crossed arms. _

_Finally, with a huff, he continued on. "…And the lowball goons that I normally hire are afraid I will get them caught like last time." Eliot's mind wandered back to the job they ran against Chaos during the holidays. He and his goons were outsmarted for the second time by the team. _

"_And you are surprised?" Parker asked._

"_Well…Anyway. You guys are outcasts, I am an outcast…It could work." Chaos said hopefully. _

"_NO." Both Parker and Eliot said simultaneously. _

"_Idiot." Parker muttered as she turned to leave. _

"_You need a hacker!" He called after them. "And you know it!" Chaos knew it was a long shot, but he was desperate. He knew that he could hack the security systems; he just didn't have the dexterity to actually retrieve the pricey items. He needed them just as much as they needed him. _

"_They money is in locker 109 at the downtown post office." Eliot yelled at him as he and Parker disappeared into the darkness. _

_Chaos rubbed his tender cheek as he finally jumped off of the Carousel and wandered into the night. _

_Two Months Later:_

"_You are one annoying son of a bitch." Eliot growled at Chaos. _

_The meetings at the Carousel had become a regular meeting place. Every time Parker and Eliot made to rob a museum or steal from greedy businessmen, Chaos was there, busting them out of dead ends and giving them in-depth intel. Every single time, he would get them out of a sticky situation and request a third of the money. This was the third time and he was getting on their last nerve. They had tried everything to evade him but he was persistent. It was almost a game to him now; like he enjoyed the attention more than the money. _

_Once Parker caught sight of Chaos she made to attack him trying to claw at him in fury. His annoying voice showing up at every heist had gotten under her skin. Eliot held her back, rolling his eyes. _

"_You almost had it on your own this time." Chaos snickered. The comment reflexively sent a shrill noise from Parker's throat as she tried even harder to attack. _

"_Let me at him!" She squealed. _

"_We are basically a team already." Chaos said slurping up some of his vanilla milkshake. _

"_Not so much." Eliot said. _

"_Just let me help you, haven't I proven myself?" Chaos asked as he sipped up the last of his milkshake and threw the cup off the side of the revolving Carousel. The music played in the background and Parker's hatred for horses was now linked to her hatred for Chaos. _

"_We will never trust you." _

"_That's fine." Chaos shrugged. "Let's just make this easy on ourselves and let me get you the intel __before__ you go in the buildings next time." _

_Parker and Eliot silently contemplated his proposal. It was true that it would save them a lot of time researching and they wouldn't have to be bailed out after so many cons. _

_Chaos gave them a pestering smile that made Parker restless. The thought of partnering with Chaos, the enemy of her former lover, sent thoughts of revenge as well as a longing misery through her body._

"_Besides…I'm never going to give up." He said with a selfish grin. _

_At the Military Compound:_

"Don't give up. Don't give up." Chaos said to himself as the thunderstorm beat down on him. He was huddled over the box that would ultimately save everyone if he could just adapt it for the rain and lightning. He fanned his jacket over the box to keep it from getting wet.

His mind whirled. The problem was clear. In a thunderstorm with rain, lighting and wind gusts, he needed to find a voltage that was strong enough to keep the fence electrified without fizzling out, while at the same time, not making it so strong that lighting would be drawn to it, triggering the electricity to arc, and potentially causing everyone in the circle to be fried. Chaos sent an aggravated yell towards the rest of the team, cursing them for giving him this insurmountable task. He only had one try to get it right. If it was too high, he would kill everyone, if it was too low it would short the circuits and he would have to fix every single satellite box, which right now seemed to be in perilous danger of being overrun by zombies. The blaring noise wasn't helping either.

"Don't give up." He told himself again as he wiped away the water from his face and hunched over further adjusting the settings.

Both Caroline and Sophie watched as the zombies began their hungry dash toward the team. A clap of thunder shook the area as lightning struck in the distance. The rain soaked them to the bone as they waited for the zombies to reach them. Caroline's usual over energized red locks were matted down with the rain, water dripping from the tendrils. Sophie's jacket was worthless in deflecting the rain as she shivered half due to the adrenaline kicking into overdrive and half due to the drop in temperature.

"Hurry!" Sophie screamed to Chaos. He didn't seem to hear her over the pounding alarm that continued relentlessly.

Mikel and Eliot stood like goalies between their own two piles of weapons. Each had their own goal to defend and they would do it at any cost.

The zombies came in droves, each tumbling over the other to get at the red meat that stood at the center of the grassy field. There were brown puddles everywhere and it reminded Eliot of the time when he agreed to go shopping with Sophie on black Friday. Just like now, everyone trampled blindly and hungrily to get through the double doors of the stores. Sophie was vicious and he was actually scared that the women shopping would kill him to get their hands on the items that he had picked up.

The raging herd was getting closer and closer. Eliot looked over to see Mikel crouch slightly, getting in her preparatory stance. Her gaze was intense and she looked like a warrior.

Closer and closer they came. Some slipped and fell into pools of water, while others squealed hurdling ahead.

Finally, the first zombie emerged from the group in a military uniform. He was obviously a fast runner in his past life, because he was ahead of the pack. He barred his teeth and his yellow eyes flicked toward Mikel. He chose his victim. The military soldier let out a scream and barreled himself at her. She gave Eliot a quick wink and stormed up to meet the attacking zombie head on. Her arms raised, and her body tense, this warrior queen took the shovel and slammed the end into the zombies face. The thump echoed as the zombie flattened itself to the ground. His face was smashed in and blood spurted from its lips. Mikel had no time to watch the life go out of the zombie before the horde descended.

"One!" Mikel yelled to Eliot.

Without another beat, Eliot moved forward, ignoring the pain in his leg and slamming his axe into the gut of an oncoming zombie. Quickly pulling the axe out of his stomach and spinning around he sent the axe flying behind him as it sliced off the closest zombies arm. Eliot's face was grim as he sent his reign of death down on these mindless human infected.

More and more of the zombies came trampling in from all directions. Some tried to grab at them, while others just sent themselves in face first trying to bite directly into the skin. Eliot bobbed and weaved as he swung, jabbed and slammed his weapons into one zombie after the other. His body shook from the sudden exertion of energy, but he didn't stop, he went on relentlessly pounding against the endless zombies.

"Nineteen!" Eliot hollered over to Mikel.

He took a quick moment to watch her crack the knees of an oncoming zombie and watched it fall to the ground no longer able to hold his own weight. She slammed the shovel through its neck.

"Twenty-two!" She yelled back. His face tried to disguise the momentary shock, but she had caught it, and relished it. His body tensed, more frustrated than before ready to kill more zombies. There was no way he would let her win.

Blood spattered his clothing, but everything was clear as he jammed his elbow into the face of an oncoming zombie. The zombie was one of the few that were decked out in military gear, including a gun and he was going to take full advantage of it. As quickly as he could, he slammed his axe into the neck of the zombie, taking no time to pull the AK-47 from the zombie's dead corpse.

He slammed the butt of the gun into another oncoming zombie, and sent a roundhouse kick toward two that were hobbling at him from his right flank. They faltered to the ground and spent the next few moments trying to get back up. It gave Eliot just enough time to prep his gun.

Eliot gave out a victorious laugh and he began to spray bullets in the direction of a dense pack of zombies. Some zombies screeched and went down immediately, others that weren't shot head on continued to growl and hobble relentlessly toward him.

"Thirty-seven!" Eliot yelled back to Mikel.

"What!" She screamed in surprise looking over at him. "That's not fair!" Her Hebrew accent hollered over the blaring sound.

"Look out!" He yelled back in fear as he watched an attacking zombie charge after her, inches from baring his bloody teeth into her dark skin.

Mikel looked back immediately and her eyes went wide. The blonde haired zombie made eye contact and launched itself toward her. Without hesitation she ducked, dropping down to the ground as the zombie jumped onto her.

Eliot went pale as he watched the scene in horror. The rain poured and the dark clouds made it hard for him to see exactly what was happening.

"MIKEL!" He yelled as he shot his way over to her. He had no visual; all he could see was a zombie fumbling around in the spot where she was just standing moments ago. Apprehension gripped his insides.

Without warning Mikel lobbed the zombie over her back. It landed on the ground behind her flailing around in confusion. Eliot quickly sent an accurate piercing of bullets at its head and its movement stopped.

Mikel's heart was pounding and she breathed heavy as she looked to Eliot.

"Thirty-eight." He said giving her a smile.

"Help!" Caroline screamed ripping their attention away from each other. He barely heard it over the alarm.

After realizing the mistake he made, he scolded himself for leaving his side of the barrier unguarded when going to save Mikel. All of the zombies that he should have been fighting were headed straight for Caroline.

Eliot started shooting zombies nearby, but didn't want to shoot directly at Caroline for fear that a stray bullet might hit her or Chaos, who was crouched nearby.

"I've almost got it!" Chaos called as loud as he could without looking up from his work.

Dr. Craver watched with sickening terror as the zombies went after Caroline. He was in a constant state of guilt watching as the zombies assaulted the team while he hid in the RV like a cowering dog. Even the daughter of his best friend fought outside while he trembled within the confines of the RV.

When he saw the horde his mind went into overdrive. His hands flung against the window watching in repulsion as Caroline was moments from being butchered by the infected.

"NO!" He bellowed as he charged out of the RV. Eliot didn't have time to get over to her, but he did. Dr. Craver raced over to her direction as about ten zombies were moments from descending onto the redhead. She tried to axe one but she couldn't pull the sharp axe back out of his gut. Her body tensed waiting for impact.

Dr. Craver sprinted at the zombies with a fierce gallop. He charged into them like a bowling ball into a set of bowling pins.

Just as he charged the zombie's, Chaos let out a triumphant yell.

"Here it goes!" He screamed, flipping the switch on.

With that moment, he turned his head, just as Eliot and Mikel and Sophie turned their head to watch in horror as Dr. Craver and the zombies he'd saved Caroline from shook violently as they were electrocuted by the fence.

Everything was silent. The last of the zombies within the fencing had been killed, and the hordes that were coming at them were shuddering and falling to the floor when making contact with the electric fence.

Eliot quickly limped his way over to Dr. Craver, closely followed by Caroline as they dragged Dr. Craver by the arms back toward the RV.

"No, no, no, no, no." Caroline cried as the slightly charred man lay before them. Rain continued to pour at a heavy rate, baring down on them.

Sophie laid a hand on Caroline's shoulder, rubbing it gently, as she leaned over the body.

Mikel moved up to him and checked his neck for a pulse. Her accented words sent a ripple of dread through the group.

"He's dead."


	29. Chapter 29

_Author's Note: _

Hey everyone! Hope everyone is doing well!

Another chapter is up, but if you want some answers, you probably shouldn't read this! More suspense is all you will get in this chapter. :) I know, I'm mean, but I promise, it will be worth it in the end.

Hoellenwauwau: I sort of touched on how the zombie thing got started in the first chapter, but I don't think I mentioned the reason. And honestly, I have no idea why it got started, lol, I think I'm going to leave that as a mystery...unless I think of something interesting between now and the final chapter.

Koxie: The Legolas and Gimli thing from LOTR was absolutely what I was trying to pull from. I loooooved that scene in the movie.

Wolfofsheep: thank you thank you! :D

Zee-Zee Magee - I think you are right, they might need to find out, but that all depends on who survives to tell.

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><p>Please Read and Review!<p>

And as always, you guys are awesome!

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><p><em>Chapter 29:<em>

"Kill her." Sterling said without remorse. The bodyguard lifted his gun up to her eye level and everything dropped into slow motion. She wasn't sure if she was going crazy or whether she actually heard Nate scream in the background but one thing was for certain; she did hear the unmistakable and deafening gunshot that sent a spray of bullets to take her life.

Nate's body exploded as he slammed Parker underneath the cement. The bullets were furious, but his hope was that the cement would slow them down enough that they wouldn't get to Parker.

Parker's body was immediately shoved under the thick surface of the liquid cement. Her eyes reflexively shut as her body was submerged. The gritty semi-solid liquid grabbed hold of her, fast and firm.

The bodyguard laughed. Sterling watched in anger, a mixture of concern brewing beneath the surface of his stony features.

The cement continued to rise, gushing from the walls and hallways. Each of the men squared off as the cement reached their chest. Nate could feel the thick liquid getting solidifying close to the floor where they tried to stand. All three men waded themselves closer to the others.

It had been far too long and Parker had yet to resurface. Nate's mind whizzed, wondering if shoving her under had caused her to get stuck beneath the grey swamp.

The devious bodyguard held his gun high enough over the cement that he still had a clean shot at Nate's head, but his aim was shaky.

Was this it? Was this his fate and the fate of his family? Dread clung to him, his hope diminishing.

"Nathan Ford. My best friend, why are you doing this?" Sterling spoke. Nate could tell that Sterling too was getting uneasy about the cement levels.

"We are not friends." Nate spat.

"Nate, of all people you have to understand. I need to get this back to Olivia. Please don't make this harder on yourself."

"Give me the vials." Nate said angrily. "You know it is too late for Olivia. It's time to move on."

Sterling took a moment to give Nate his most hated and disgusted look.

"Shoot him." Sterling hissed in Nate's direction. Nate could tell Sterling was mad with rage and that his only focus was on his daughter; on the past.

The bodyguard aimed his gun and Nate closed his eyes preparing for his final moments in this world. The dread and sorrow filled him, knowing that he had failed in his mission, that he had failed his family, and that he would not be able to look upon Sophie's face again.

Without a warning a grey monster blasted from beneath the churning waves of cement. The grey beast launched at the alarmed body guard who misfired at the ceiling.

Nate gave a victorious yelp as he watched the small feral creature fling itself onto the bodyguard's back. Parker clamped her legs around his waist as she dug her fingernails into the man's eyes. He let out shrieks and screams as she mercilessly pulled him backward under the cement upsurge.

Both Nate and Sterling watched in shock as their allies vanished instantly.

Nate took this time to wade himself past the table and closer to Sterling. He caught sight of a few beakers floating along the surface, and then eventually sinking into the dark depths.

"Jim…" Nate admonished seriously. He couldn't believe that his best friend would go to such lengths to threaten the wellbeing of the human race.

Sterling interrupted him, unwilling to negotiate.

"Don't you dare judge me, Nathan Ford. You would do the exact same thing to save Sam." The desperation in Sterling's voice yelled out the last part, making sure Nate heard him.

Nate's voice caught in his throat and his heart clenched. It was hard to hear that name, even now. His son, the one he couldn't save. Sterling was exactly right; Nate would have done the same thing to save his own son. Nate contemplated the situation, building a small bridge of understanding.

Nate lost his son in a moment, a flash, and couldn't go back, couldn't see him again. The only thing Nate could do was get revenge, which he eventually did. Sterling on the other hand, watched his daughter day in and day out, dead, yet not dead, alive, yet not alive. It must have driven him mad. Nate recognized that in Sterling's mind, his daughter was still alive, and Nate knew that if Sam was in Olivia's place now, he would go to any lengths necessary.

Nate was now very nervous. The cement continued to rise and there weren't many options left. He decided to switch tactics. "We don't have time for this. Give me the vial, we will reproduce it, and you can save Olivia."

"No." Sterling's voice was determined. He wasn't going to trust these vials to anyone other than himself.

"Then you leave me no choice." Nate said sadly as he lunged at Sterling.

Parker dragged the bodyguard underneath the surface of the grey cement. The man was surprised and wasn't ready for the slow moving fight with little oxygen.

Parker continued to grab onto his back as he flung around trying desperately to bash her against a wall. He finally gripped her arms and dragged her around. Parker desperately tried to break free of his solid grip, her legs still tightly secure against his waist, but he was more powerful and the cement was starting to dry against her skin. The stinging sensation kept her alert, but the fear of her eyes being cemented together gave her an altogether new level of urgency.

The bodyguard relentlessly twisted her around and slowly fumbled his hands up to her neck. The pressure of his grip began to crush her windpipe and she knew that she was losing the battle.

Parker fiercely tried to pull his hands away, but they would not release despite her best efforts. Her cunning wouldn't get her out of this situation and she knew it. Her mind slowed, just like the rest of her body, not only being immobilized by the cement, but by the lack of oxygen to her brain.

She couldn't tell if her mind was playing tricks on her, but at the last second, just as she was preparing to take her infinite sleep, she felt a metal object up against her hand. Immediately, her mind went into overdrive, knowing exactly what she got her hands on. The metal sent strength like a commanding fire through her body.

Nate and Sterling slammed each other up against metal cabinetry each fighting for the small metal box that Sterling clutched in his hand. Each played a delicate game, knowing that if either lost their grip on the box it could be lost in the grey depths forever.

The fight was brutal. Sterling sent a fist at Nate, and it collided with his left eye, while Nate elbowed Sterling in the neck sending both falling back. Each had to stand taller and taller to stay above the cement for air, and the chances of either surviving were dwindling by the second.

The fight seemed to go on forever, each knowing the others weaknesses. After both were heaving for air Nate managed to somehow get a sturdy grasp of Sterling's head and slammed it up against the corner of the metal cabinet.

Sterling's eyes immediately rolled back into his head and he slipped into unconscious. Nate's heart tightened knowing that he had just doomed an old friend to death.

Parker took the last of her energy to pull the metal shotgun with all of her might around, jabbing the gun up to where she anticipated the bodyguard's chest would be and fired.

She figured the gun would have jammed due to all the cement, but the moment she felt the bodyguards grip loosen she took the chance shove herself up and out of the cement.

Nate didn't get a chance to regret his murderous decision. He grappled his hands down towards Sterling's hand where the metal box was still tightly fastened in his hand. Nate quickly unclasped Sterling's fingers from the handle and took the box into his own.

A noise caught his attention from across the room as someone reached the surface of the cement and erupted into a fit of coughs.

Nate began swimming over, keeping his head above water as he tried to make out who it was. The blob was smaller and had a feminine quality.

Nate's heart leapt as he watched Parker wade herself over to the door to grab onto the paneling.

"Parker!" Nate yelled, trying to catch his breath as he swam through the sticky liquid.

"Nate?" She screamed, coughing and trying to suck more air into her lungs. Her body was fatigued and the cement began to dry to her face. Despite these challenges, she only had one thing on her mind. "Did you get the vials?"

He swam up to her as the doorway went under. There was still a solid foot of breathing room from the cement to the ceiling, but it was disappearing fast.

"I've got it, we need to go." Nate said.

Nate was sure the fumes were getting to Parker, because she immediately reached for him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you." She muttered into his gooey shoulder.

Nate was speechless, but before he had the chance to respond, she ducked under the cement and disappeared out of the room. Nate quickly followed and used his hand to find his way into the hallway.

Since the rooms were now filled with the cement, their heads were sliding closer and closer to the ceiling for air. They didn't have much space left as they swam and pulled themselves along the passageway towards the vent.

Parker wasn't even sure she was going the right way until they reached a dead end.

"Nate!" Parker yelled as loud as she could. Parker glanced behind her and saw his face bobbing up towards her, Nate's features up against the ceiling to draw air.

"Ready?" Nate asked as he swam up to her.

"Yeah." Parker said as she submerged herself yet again.

Nate took one final breath as the cement overtook the ceiling. His body was slow going as the cement tried to pull him back. It was like a mystical creature trying to pull him into the darkness, to keep him there, in this cement prison for eternity.

Parker swam under the metal door and at the center, just where she had left it, she felt the thick rope. Nate's wandering hand caught on her shoulder and she guided his hand to the rope.

Her body was now breaking down as the lack of clean oxygen hand gotten to her. Her mind only focused on the person that she wanted more than anything to see again. Hardison was at the top of this tunnel, she had to make it him. With sheer willpower Parker pulled herself up over the lip of the rising cement.

"HELP!" She screamed desperately up to the top of the ventilation shaft.

_Up at the surface:_

Mikel, Caroline, Sophie, Eliot and Chaos were still in a suspended state of shock up at the surface. Rain sizzled against the electric fence while zombies continued to pour into it, electrifying on contact.

Then they heard it.

"HELP!" An echo reached their ears from the vent. Eliot jumped up and half jogged, half limped himself over to the cylindrical vent. Mikel came up behind him with a flashlight and shone it down on the rising cement and Parker, pulling herself out of it as quickly as she could.

Eliot didn't take any time to start heaving the rope up, pulling her up as fast as he could. Unfortunately, the cement and the fact that there were two people attached to the rope made it much more difficult to pull.

The rope burned his hands and Mikel jumped in, pulling behind him.

"What the hell is that?" Sophie asked horrified looking down at the grey goo. The cement was rising at an unyielding pace now. Parker was able to rise above it with the help of both retrieval specialists. Nate's head managed to reach the surface as he sucked in air. His body shook and he continued to wrap his hand around the rope while clutching the box with the other.

"Get us up! Nate has the vials!" Parker screamed.

The rain was still pouring hard at the top, but no one took any notice as they began pulling the rope in unison.

The moment Nate felt the joy of success it was immediately taken away as something grabbed a hold of his leg underneath the surface.

"Parker." He yelled up to her, trying to kick away whatever it was. Parker looked down in concern. "Take the box!" He yelled as he tried to pull the box up to her.

Without warning, a deadly force ripped the box from his hand and overtook him. His hand was suddenly empty the box was gone.

"NO!" Nate yelled, looked down at the cement. It continued to rise, and they continued to pull him out.

Parker looked down at him and he knew he could not reach the surface without that box in hand.

Without another word, Nate let go of the rope and dropped beneath the surface of the cement.

"Where did he go?" Sophie asked, the pitch in her voice quickly rising.

Caroline, who now had the flashlight while Mikel and Eliot continued to pull the rope, searched the cement frantically. There was nothing. Parker finally reached the surface as they used the remainder of the rope to pull her out.

Eliot grabbed hold of her arms and dragged her heavy body up over the vent and onto solid ground. Parker heaved as she fell to the ground, mud splashing.

Her body finally able to release, she lay in the wet mud as the ongoing torrential rain washed the cement away from her face. She couldn't manage to sit up, as much as she wanted, she couldn't even move.

"Nate!" Sophie yelled down the black hole. "NATE!"

Her voice was cracking as she was getting more desperate. One moment he was above the grey goo rising, the next he was gone. Her body shuddered involuntarily, uncertain of his fate.

The cement had almost reached the surface now and there was still no sign of their leader.

The long moments passed and the group roved their arms around in the cement trying to reach for his hand, anything.

"Oh my God." Sophie choked.

"Oh my God." Parker echoed as she stared at the charred body of Dr. Craver lying a few feet away from her.

Her eyes began to tear up as she realized what was happening. Without Nate and the vials, they didn't have a cure, without Dr. Craver, they couldn't combine the cure, and without the cure, she didn't have Hardison.

Darkness fell upon Parker as her body went numb.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note:**

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a nice weekend. Here's the next chapter.

AliasMarie: I'm so glad you like the cement. I was toying around with that idea for a while and wasn't sure if it would work out. I think it did! I already have prepared who will and will not die, but unfortunately, everyone will have to wait and see. I can't give it away now!

Wolfofsheep: answers coming soon, i promise!

Hoellenwauwau: oooooh! I love the idea of this zombie outbreak being in the secret book. There are still a few more chapters so I might be able to stick something in there. We will see, but that is a perfect idea.

YeahLev – If you've been with me from the beginning I am super impressed. This fanfic was supposed to be finished in two months and now we are going on eight, so thanks for sticking with it! Also, thanks for the feedback on the cement idea!

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><p>Please R&amp;R! You are awesome!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 30<strong>:

"YOU BASTARDS!" Sophie yelled at Eliot, Chaos, Mikel and Caroline.

It had been a solid minute and the cement around the outside of the cylindrical vent was drying fast. There was only space for two of them to stuff their hands down into the cement without it getting permanently caught.

"Sophie, you need to get your hand out of there before the cement dries." Eliot's voice was soft and it was hard to imagine that voice from someone who's hair was a wet mess, face was dirt ridden and who's clothes were spattered in a mixture of blood and mud.

"How dare you leave him!" Sophie yelled back. It was hard to tell due to the continuous pouring of rain from the deep grey sky, but tears were falling down her face quickly and desperately.

"Sophie." Caroline placed her hand on Sophie's shoulder. Caroline understood what it was like losing someone you loved. Throughout the past few weeks she had managed to lose her entire family to this dreaded zombie apocalypse.

Sophie's face contorted into a livid rage. She couldn't believe that they were giving up already. How could they? He was still down there. Her body began to shake involuntarily and she couldn't keep her mind straight. She would save him, just like he saved her.

_Five year's ago:_

"_Hello darling."_

_Sophie tried to ignore it, but a shudder ran down her spine. Since the first day of her capture they had managed to torture her until she lay in a puddle of her own vomit on the floor. They kept telling her that she would have to deal with the consequences; she would have to suffer for her friend's mistake. _

_Sophie was not used to the grift failing her. She had many occasions such as these where she was able to turn her captors against the others and somehow get free. In this situation, they were immune to her powers. She couldn't understand it. _

"_I don't have any information for you. I don't know what you are talking about." She let out another bloodcurdling scream as they pressed another hot coal into her back. _

"_Pleeeeease." She howled as the heat burned through her flesh. She felt her body lose grip with reality and her vision became fuzzy. On cue, the nausea set in and she dropped to the floor unconscious. _

_Three hours later: _

"_Good afternoon Ms. Polak." The dry throated man said to her again, waking her up from her involuntary sleep with a splash of cold water. Sophie's body was ice cold and on fire at the same time. Everything hurt tremendously, she couldn't keep doing this. _

_The first thing she noticed was that she was now sitting in a chair with wires running along the sides and attached to her body. She knew immediately that this was an electric chair. Her blood ran cold. _

"_That's not my name." She emphasized again. Throughout the entire kidnapping they had only referred to her by one of her grifting alias names. She tried to correct them, telling them that they had the wrong person, but it was no use; they continued to grunt in laughter, ignore her and share with her the atrocities that happened at the prison they were sending her to. _

"_It doesn't matter what your name is." The man said deviously. "Besides, I have a gift for you today….You get to speak with your fearless leader." _

_Sophie's voice caught in her throat. Was this another trick? What were they planning? She didn't have time to evaluate his claim. Within moments he was glancing at a crumpled up piece of paper and typing a phone number into a fancy looking cell phone._

_The phone rang. She waited, heart pounding as he held the phone up to her ear. The ringing stopped and she could hear breathing on the other end of the line. _

"_Nate?" She said breathlessly. Please be him, she begged internally. _

"_Sophie, is that you? Where are you?" _

_Hearing his voice again almost made her shatter into pieces right there. The concerned, broken voice issued through the phone like a lighthouse trying to guide her home; if only she knew where she was. _

"_I do-don't know. It's dark, I'm in some kind of holding cell." _

_Sophie glanced up at her captor, unsure of what she could and couldn't say to Nate. He gave a sickly sweet smile and gestured for her to continue. He was obviously by no means concerned with their conversation. _

"_Sophie, hold on, I'm going to get Hardison to track your signal." _

_Sophie was expecting that. Her captor was already pulling the phone away, not liking where this conversation was headed. She needed to keep him on the phone. She was losing hope._

"_No Nate! Don't get off the phone. I don't have much time." She desperately cried. _

"_Sophie, what's going on?" _

"_They've mistaken me for someone else. They are going to use one of my aliases to extradite me back to Turkey. They are going to send me to Diyarbakir!" Her voice faltered at the last word._

"_No they aren't, Sophie, we are coming for you." Nate said forcefully, almost yelling into the phone. _

_She hoped that it was true, but her body couldn't withstand this much longer. She couldn't survive like this. _

"_Who has you Sophie?" _

"_I don't know. The last thing I remember was that I was doing some follow-up in Washington D.C. about some of the irregularities in our latest cases. I was down by the White House and…everything went black!"_

_Sophie looked up at the man holding the phone. He was wagging his finger as if to say that was the wrong move. Clamping her hands on the sides of the chair, she knew what was coming. The man pulled a small device that looked like a silver remote from his back pocket. _

"_Don't worry. That's a start. I will get you out, I promise. No matter what. Sophie? Sophie!"_

_Sophie felt the volts of electricity run through her as the stampeding current evoked a terrifying scream from her throat. Her body froze as the electricity sped up her spine with sheer deadly force. _

_Her ears were ringing and she could barely make out that her captor was now having a conversation with Nate. She felt the nausea rise again, but kept it down in a hope that she could speak with Nate again. _

_After another few moments of heated conversation, her captor pressed the button again, sending another bolt of electricity throughout her body. She couldn't take it, she screamed again. _

"_STOP IT! DAMNIT, SOPHIE! SOPHIE!" Nate screamed. She could hear his voice yelling through the phone. _

_Without another ounce of strength in her body, she fell unconscious. _

_One hour later:_

_She had trouble seeing straight this time and wasn't sure whether there was a second man in the room or she was just seeing double. The first man seemed to be on the phone while the other stood with a sharp blade in his hand. He licked his lips as he flipped the blade over and over. She knew that knife was meant for her. _

"_You decision Mr. Ford." The man said calmly. _

_She couldn't hear Nate's response. She moved forward as far as she could in her chair, but she couldn't decipher the sound on the other end. _

"_I appreciate your dedication to your team, but that wasn't the deal." _

_She waited impatiently, desperate to hear his voice again. _

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Ford, I need your decision or she dies now."_

_They spoke a bit more and then Sophie heard her captor say something that caused her fingers to tighten. The second captor moved up to her with his knife and ran it along her cheek and down her neck. _

"_And if there is any hint or any whisper that you are trying to find her, I will slit her throat myself."_

_Sophie's heart was thumping out of her chest as she felt the cold steel of the knife. She knew that at any moment this man could pierce her skin and her life would be finished. He ran the knife down her arm and sliced through skin. _

_She let out a painful yell as blood trickled down her arm._

"_Talk to your boyfriend." The captor spat at her with disgust and amusement._

"_Nate?" Her voice was now weak, and he began to cry._

"_Sophie, I'm coming for you. Do you hear me? I love you and I'm coming for you."_

_Her body ached and she was afraid to believe those words. The man with the knife was still inches away and the first captor had hung up the phone before she could respond. _

_All she had to go on now was hope and trust in the love of her life. He would find her; he would never give up on her; so she decided then and there that she would never give up on him. _

"Sophie, please." Caroline said, trying again to pull her away from the cement. It wouldn't help anyone if her arm was caught in the cement when it dried.

Sophie reflexively elbowed Caroline back. Caroline tripped and Chaos held up a hand to steady her.

Everyone knew this wasn't good.

Parker just lay in the wet, muddy grass staring up at the sky as the rain poured. All the sound around her was mumbled and distant as she came to the realization that this was it. That they had failed.

"Don't touch me." Sophie cried and yelled simultaneously. "Nate saved me when I though there was no hope left, I am not giving up!"

"Of course." Mikel said calmly. She was at this point the only one besides Chaos who was thinking with a level head. "Let me try for a moment, I have longer arms."

Sophie looked at her suspiciously, but desperation won out and she pulled her hand from the cement.

Mikel stuck her arm in while Eliot gave her a skeptical look. Mikel knew that when the cement was close to being fully dry she would be willing to pull her arm out, while Sophie would not.

Mikel reached her arm in and dug around as far down as she could, pushing with her strained muscles around feeling as close to the dried portions of cement as possible.

After another few moments just before she was about to pull her arm out and call Nate lost forever, her hand brushed up against a tip of flesh. It was different than the consistency of the cement. Something was still down there.

"ELIOT!" She yelled. He ran back over, followed quickly by Sophie. "Hold my waist."

Eliot quickly placed both hands on both sides of her hips and held on firmly.

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know yet." Mikel responded.

Mikel quickly leaned in, submerging her shoulder, and moved in deeper all the way up to her neck. Her head slanted against the cement and she pushed her hand as far down as it would go.

Within seconds her fingers latched onto a fleshy arm. It wasn't moving. She grabbed around what she imagined was the wrist and began to pull.

It was unimaginably hard and the cement was like a barrier, getting more difficult by the second.

"PULL!" She screamed to Eliot as her arms felt like they were being ripped out of their sockets. Slowly, the arm lifted up. She pulled and inch by inch the mysterious arm moved up higher.

As the body got higher, the outside cement walls were becoming more solidified. In seconds, both Mikel and this body would be cemented into the vent forever.

Sophie and Caroline watched in horror and unimaginable hope. Sophie couldn't breathe. She finally threw her arms in the center of the vent next to Mikel and latched onto the arm beginning to pull as well.

Finally, the body raised closer to the surface, just enough for Eliot to reach in and grab the grey, cemented figure underneath the armpits and pull him out.

Eliot let out an angry grunt. The weight of the person with the cement added onto his hurt leg made it very difficult.

With one final heave, the body released from the vent and both Eliot and the gooey body fell to the ground.

Sophie quickly went about using the rain to wipe off the cemented man's face and arms. She let out a cry of relief as she saw Nate's face.

"Eliot, he's not breathing." Sophie yelled despite the fact that Eliot was right next to her.

Time stood still as they pumped his chest with air. Expectations were not high, and Mikel knew that if any of this fast acting cement had made it into his lungs he would be dead anyway.

Time went by slowly as they waited. They could hear zombies continue to sizzle against the fencing. Chaos looked apprehensively over at it. It had dealt with a lot within this past hour and he was worried that the change in electrical charge would limit the amount of power. Though he hadn't told the team, the fence could go out at any moment.

He watched closely hoping that the electrical charge would last just a little bit longer.

"NATE!" Sophie spoke to him, wiping some extra cement out of his hair. "Please wake up. Please."

Another minute went by and nothing.

"We need to go guys." Chaos said.

"Shut up." Sophie screamed at him, furious. She wanted to blame someone for this, and he was the easiest one to attack at the moment.

"Chaos is right. The electrical fence is flickering. We need to leave." Mikel answered, taking point and making the level headed decisions that needed to be made.

"Is that the box?" Parker asked in disbelief. It was the first time she had addressed any of them since jumping down the vent. They looked at her in surprise and then looked over at his left hand. Sure enough the cement covered box matched the size of the one that held the vials.

Parker's eyes went wide as she moved over to it and pulled Nate's tight grip from the handle. She looked him in the eyes, pained by his lack of movement. He had risked his life to save her and the man she loved. She wouldn't admit it, but she desperately wanted him to make it. She wanted everyone to be a family again.

"Let's go." Mikel said. Eliot, Chaos and Mikel quickly lifted Nate onto the RV and laid him down in the back. Sophie continued the CPR with Caroline while Parker, Chaos and Mikel grabbed the electric fence components. Once the fence went down they took those quick moments to kill any zombies within attack distance then jumped into the RV and took off.

Not long after the drive began, the group heard a call of success from the back of the RV followed by a fit of coughs.

"He's okay!" Caroline said in a shrill voice as she ran up and down the RV. All that could stand and move to the back did so as they watched Nate recover. His face was grey and his body was still covered in cement, but no one cared as relief and hope spread across all the faces of the team.

"The vials?" Nate asked through a fit of coughs.

Sophie slapped him in the arm. "You almost died and the only things you can think to ask about are the vials?" She half laughed, half cried.

His eyes met Parker's as she stood further back in the hallway. She gave him a slight smile, but Nate knew, even after years of being apart that he had regained her loyalty. By risking his own life to save Hardison and the team, there was still hope for a future with his family.

Chaos drove most of the way at nearly one hundred miles per hour. Parker wasn't allowed to drive, because everyone was pretty sure she would get them killed trying to get to the facility as quickly as possible.

"So how do we combine the vials now?" Mikel asked.

"They have to have a scientist up in the facility in Washington, right?" Parker asked hopefully. Everyone ignored the banging and moaning that continued from Hardison in the bathroom, refusing to believe that this was the end after they had all been through so much.

"They have to. This man couldn't have been the only one that knew how to combine molecular compounds." Sophie said, hopefully.

The bickering continued for a solid thirty minutes. During that time, Parker caught sight of the one person keeping a low profile in the conversation.

"Caroline." Parker said suspiciously.

Caroline popped her head up in surprise while the others quickly stopped talking, curious at the tone of Parker's voice.

"Yes?" Caroline said in a high pitched, nervous tone.

"Do you know how to combine the vials?"

Parker had caught her on more than one occasion reading science textbooks and was sure that her father had given her more information about the cure than she was letting on.

"Umm." Caroline mustered, searching around the room for some way to divert the attention from her to anyone else. It was no use. Everyone was staring at her with a determined and probing expression.

"Caroline?" Parker pushed.

"Not really…" She started, then shook her head, "sort of…." She couldn't get her words straight. "I'm not sure."

Everyone stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate. She finally threw her hands in the air and began explaining.

"See, my dad taught me how to combine them, but I wasn't really paying attention." She dropped her head in her hands, feeling guilty and ashamed.

"How could you not pay attention?" Mikel asked, disbelieving.

Parker quickly held up her hand and silenced Mikel. She took the box and stood up from the table and moved over to kneel in front of Caroline who sat, sulking on the couch.

"Caroline." Parker said softly, pushing Caroline's hands from her face. Everyone watched in utter silence and shock.

"I'm sorry." Caroline whispered.

"You can do this." Parker said, looking up at Caroline. Caroline's face went from surprise to adamant fear.

"No, I can't, I will screw it up. I will kill everyone. I will kill Hardison."

Parker was struck silent by her last words, but swallowed her fear and continued.

"You are my only hope." Parker said softly resting her hand on Caroline's knee. "Please do this for me."

Caroline looked up at her, unsure of how to respond. Parker was her arch nemesis throughout their time together. It was unnatural for this strong blonde woman to be begging at her feet for her help. Caroline didn't know how to respond.

Parker quietly placed the box in Caroline's lap.

"You said it was your mission to get these vials, to cure everyone." Parker said with finality.

"Now do it."


	31. Chapter 31

Author's Note:

Hi everyone. I just have to say, you are super awesome reviewers. I would have stopped writing this story a long time ago if you hadn't supported me through it.

bwaller147: Thanks! I love your story too! Now you need to write another chapter. :D I'm still ruminating on how I want to bring up the zombie outbreak. We will see...

hoellenwauwau: I really was debating whether Nate would die, but alas, I think it's important that he is alive. I bet Caroline has learned always to pay attention to what she is learning, though the lesson might have come too late...

wolfofsheep: Thanks! You are awesome.

Zippy Zany: We are almost at the end, but I keep adding on chapters, ugh, because I keep wanting to flesh things out and not hurry to an end. I can't tell if you if it will be happy or not, you will just have to wait and see. ;) You are right, I haven't given him a reason to want to go back yet, I hadn't really thought about it, but I think we will have some reasons on that in chapters to come...:D

Koxie: Lol, I would have gone crazy without internet too! I think I'm going to leave it up for interpretation. I think they had a close relationship, but daughters don't always listen to everything their fathers' say, right? Lol, you are very wise about what's coming down the pipeline for Hardison and Parker...I will say no more.

Socialoutcastwinneroftheyear: HERE'S MORE! LOL. :D :D :D

BetahimeTsukiko: Update here, though I'm not sure how much you will like it... :)

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><p>Please read and review! Love you guys.<p>

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><p><span>Chapter 31:<span>

It had been four grueling days since the group had arrived at the secluded army base in Washington. When they arrived Caroline ordered the scientists currently seeking shelter at the base to begin the reproduction of each serum. It took a solid 24 hours of review before she trusted herself enough to start combining the serums and attempting to mimic the chemical reactions her father taught her.

He was adamant about the chemical responses and how they would look if she was doing it right, she just couldn't remember them all. Though internally she chastised herself, she remained calm and positive on the outside. Parker had been watching her very closely.

"That's a really good sign." Caroline mumbled as she pulled down her thin rimmed glasses and glanced into the beaker. Parker leaned in behind her, curious, but silent.

Both women watched as bubbles rose to the surface and billowed, sliding up the beaker.

"Now for the third serum." Caroline remarked pulling the rubber cap off of the third vial and slowly pouring it into the beaker.

Caroline's hair was in a messy bun and her eyes were bloodshot with dark circles under them, but she was determined. This was going to work.

"If I remember correct…" Caroline stopped short as Parker gave her an angry glare, and Caroline immediately cleared her throat and corrected her statement, "which I do, of course…" both looked back at the beaker, "any minute now the third serum should combine with the first two and change the viscosity and tint."

"Meaning?" Parker continued.

"It should become thicker and become transparent."

Both watched and waited. Neither dared to breathe, both knowing that this could be the answer they were looking for.

Moments went by and slowly but surely the liquid became transparent, though Caroline noticed a slight blue tint lingering. She dismissed it, assuming it was caused by a trick of the light. Caroline grabbed a slender metal instrument, licking her lips in anticipation and poked inside the beaker testing its thickness.

"I…I don't believe it." Caroline spoke with disbelief. Parker looked over at her in shock and amazement.

Caroline immediately jotted down a few notes in her notebook, tracker her steps exactly so she would remember how to reproduce the experiment. She also took a sample of the liquid compound and evaluated it under a microscope. She tested its effectiveness with a few infected skin cells, a sampling of infected brain and a drop of blood.

Caroline spent an extra minute evaluating the response of the infected cells to her new concoction. It looked similar to her father's teachings, but something seemed off and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Let's go!" Parker yelped, halfway out the door, before Caroline stopped her.

"Parker, we don't know if this is right."

"I don't care, Caroline. If we don't do this now, it could be too late." Parker gave her the desperate look she had seen in the RV on the way up to Washington. Caroline wanted to tell her that it was too late for Hardison two days ago, and that this would not work on him, but she kept her mouth shut.

Caroline nodded with solemn eyes as Parker, blinded by hopefulness and optimism, rushed out of the room to notify the others. On her way out, Caroline grabbed a large syringe, injected the serum into the syringe and exited the lab with a nervous feeling.

After five minutes of Parker shouting for everyone to gather into the observation room, everyone was ready. The group's facial expressions ranged from hopeful support, nervousness, curiosity, to disapproval.

Most had made their peace with the loss of Hardison, while others still clung to that shred of hope. None clung more than Parker.

Nate and Sophie glanced at one another knowing that this would either be the happiest day of Parker's life or her new worst day. They discussed how they would handle it if Hardison wasn't given the cure in time. Both argued back and forth about how Parker would respond and how they should react. Neither actually arrived at a solid solution, so now both regretted not discussing it further as now they were stuck in the potential situation.

Chaos and Mikel chose to remain in the back. If this got ugly, they were the first that would be getting out of the way. Chaos no longer hated Hardison the way he used to, but the disdain was still there and although he didn't want Hardison to die, he wasn't going sit up front next to Parker with pom-pom's cheering him on.

Caroline stood at the observation window next to Parker feeling worse and worse about the situation. She knew Parker would be devastated and more than that, Parker would blame her, just as she had blamed Nate all those years ago. He wasn't able to save Parker, and she won't be able to save Hardison. This was about to become a disaster.

Caroline gave Eliot a warning look. The night before, during one of Eliot's long walks around the facility, he came into her lab while she was evaluating some chemical reactions. Luckily Parker had gone to the kitchen for her midnight snack so they could talk in private.

Caroline disclosed to him the state that Hardison was in and that it was too late for the cure to successfully to take effect in his body. Eliot had already known that and reassured her to just keep going, to aid all the other families that needed help and still did have a chance. Caroline agreed, but felt an overwhelming sense of failure. Eliot squeezed her shoulder and mentally prepared himself for what was to come.

Eliot volunteered himself as the person to go into the padded room to inject Hardison with the serum.

"I don't think we should use the first test on Hardison." Eliot argued. Really, he knew that even if it were correct, it wouldn't work on Hardison.

Parker shot him a flaming look. Nate looked nervously over at Sophie as he realized who Parker was becoming; she was becoming Sterling.

"There's not much time, Eliot. Either you can do it, or I will." Parker said through gritted teeth. She couldn't understand why everyone was giving up, like she was the only one that really cared about Hardison. After all he had done for everyone, why would they give up so easily?

Eliot's leg was in a much better state after being forced to sit for a few days, but every once in a while Sophie caught him wince in pain.

Eliot moved his way around the corner to the door of the padded room where Hardison wobbled back and forth in a mindless daze. The straightjacket actually protected him throughout the trip and he had only suffered minor scratches and bruises due to the RV and his zombie antics. The group and the head of military compound decided it best that the jacket remain on for future transport.

Parker stared at Hardison through the glass, just as she did these past four days, trying to see through his eyes the Hardison that was hers; that was there before.

Eliot pressed his grip into the handle pausing momentarily to send a prayer up to the heavens then entered the room.

Hardison leapt to life smelling Eliot's tantalizing flesh and charged at him as best he could. Eliot wasn't worried and quickly shoved Hardison backward up against a padded wall. Hardison growled and his face contorted into a raging expression as he tried to bite Eliot.

Parker moved up to the window, pressing her face against it in desperation. Her eyes began to tear up, though not a single tear actually fell down her face. This was it. Her hands and face made impressions into the window and everyone else stood back looking nervously at the other.

Eliot, who had a solid grip on the now dirtied straightjacket looked back at the group. He saw Parker looking through the window like a child. He looked over to see the group glance around in fear and dreaded anticipation, and then locked eyes with Caroline as she gave the final miserable nod of approval.

Without another delay he stabbed the long syringe into Hardison's neck. Eliot was surprised to see that the piercing sensation didn't even faze Hardison.

Eliot pushed the serum through the needle into Hardison's body and quickly pulled the needle out.

Everyone was silent. It was like the room was removed of its oxygen and time had stopped. Parker's face was now smashed against the window, beads of sweat dripping down her back.

No one was sure what to expect. Was it supposed to happen immediately? Even Caroline had no clue.

While Parker remained unnaturally still, looking for any reaction, the rest of the group fidgeted.

That's when it happened. It caught Eliot by surprise and Sophie shrieked.

One moment Eliot was holding Hardison against the wall to protect himself, the next moment Hardison went rigid. Everyone watched in horror as his face drained of blood, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he crumpled to the floor.

Parker remained frozen, not sure what she was seeing, her face becoming pale.

Eliot had jumped back, but reflexively caught Hardison as he fell to the floor, though it did not stop him from making a loud thump as his body dropped like a dead fish to the floor.

Caroline's hand rose to her mouth in panic. It was one thing to assume that the serum wouldn't work, it was quite another to see it. Her father told her that when done correctly, the serum would work instantly on someone who was still in the first phases of the infection. For someone who was in the latter phases, the body would absorb the serum and there would be no change.

Hardison responded in an entirely different way. She watched as Eliot, using the rubber gloves he had on, pressed his forefinger and middle finger up to Hardison's neck. Even zombie's needed oxygen to function.

Both sides of the room were dead silent as they waited for the verdict.

"No pulse." Eliot said in a shaky voice.

Parker's heart stopped beating. She glanced over at Caroline in hope that this was part of the process. She was devastated to see Caroline look away in defeat.

"No." Parker whispered as she looked at the others in the room.

"NO." Parker said louder this time.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened." Caroline tried to defend. She had no idea what to say, but felt an obligation as the serum developer to receive the punishment.

Everything in Parker's mind went haywire, like the world had just disintegrated. She looked back at Eliot who waited another solid minute checking his pulse.

Parker lost control of her body as she mindlessly walked out of the observation room and into the padded room where Eliot currently kneeled over a motionless Hardison.

It was a lot harder for her to handle in here, because now she could see him, touch him. For the past four days he had been behind glass and it wasn't as real that she might lose him forever. Seeing him on the floor lying there unnaturally caused her to go numb.

Eliot stood up and backed away as Parker dropped next to the silent man lying on the floor.

"Hardison." She whispered as she leaned closer to him. "Please wake up."

Tears began to fall from her eyes. Eliot stood back and watched as the group in the observation room left to give some privacy.

"Alec." She whimpered softly reaching for the straightjacket. It looked so confining and she would not let him stay that way. She quickly unbuckled and unstrapped the jacket as she began to yell out his name.

Eliot watched in despair as his little sister, one who was already crazy, slowly went mad. He wasn't sure it was possible.

"ALEC!" She screamed. Her entire life was washing away in a puddle of desolation. Her mind wandered between a conscious state of loss, understanding that he was dead, while at the same time, her determination refusing to give up on him.

"I promise, I will watch Star Trek with you this time. I promise." She said to him, grabbing his face in her hands, shaking it uncontrollably.

There was no response.

"WAKE UP, DAMNIT!" She screamed again, beating his chest. His body reflexively responded to the thrusts of her fist, but there were no signs of life.

"You promised you would always come for me…I'm here!...I'm HERE!" She cried.

Eliot dropped his head. Hardison was gone.

Her final words struck Eliot deeply as he watched two people he cared for slowly wither away.

"Don't leave me here alone." She whispered as she laid her head against his chest and sobbed.

After another hour, there were no more tears left in Parker's body so she slowly wretched, hiccupping and mumbling.

Eliot knew that this was it, that now he had to take her away from the body.

Without another word, he reached for Parker and picked her devastated figure up off of the floor. She didn't fight him, which scared him more than anything else. Her body was a dead weight as she looked off into the distance.

Eliot wasn't sure he actually heard it, but could have sworn Parker whispered goodbye to the person she loved despite time and distance, someone that she had been ripped apart from far too quickly.

He took one last look at Hardison's lifeless form as he closed the door.

Alec Hardison was gone.


	32. Chapter 32

_Author's Note:_

Hello again. So first off, I'd like to say thank you to my reviewers for the last chapter. It was a tough chapter and I appreciate that I didn't get any hate mail. :) And instead of responding individually like I normally do, I will just give one message...be patient...that's all I will say.

Thanks so much for sticking with me, we are very very close to the end.

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><p>Please Read &amp; Review<p>

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><p><em>Chapter 32:<em>

It was late in the day and the light from the sun cast a long shadow through the room. Nate leaned forward, his head bowed, eyes clamped shut. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, causing it to stand on end. Sophie leaned over the couch and flattened it back out again.

It had been over three weeks since Hardison's death. The team was hit hard. The first few days were spent in a dark stupor. Eliot spent most of his time punching bags or sparring with Mikel. Nate drank himself sick the first night and suffered the consequences the following days. Sophie spent her time with Caroline, half reassuring her and half acting as her assistant in finding the real cure that her father had pieced together.

The air was much thicker and everything seemed to be grey. General Locke checked on them a few times, but was mainly focused on keeping the grounds secure of zombie infiltration. He found a way to capture a few zombies that were in the newer stages for Caroline to test on. None of the other families in the compound allowed Caroline anywhere near their close family members after what happened to Hardison. Sophie could see the pain it caused Caroline, but the once naïve scared girl, was now a determined and strong woman. She no longer needed protection.

No one had seen Parker after they had moved Hardison into the morgue. Sophie was certain that she was still somewhere on site, but Nate couldn't get the idea out of his head that she had decided to abandon all hope and leave their new sanctuary. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her misery. After a few days Eliot caught glimpses of her at night, her dark figure walking around the facility with a ghostlike quality.

"We can't wait forever." Eliot exclaimed, breaking the silence in the room. He sat on a creaky barstool leaning his arm on the bar.

"What are we supposed to do?" Nate asked looking around the room. It was less of a sarcastic remark and more of a desperate attempt at any new ideas.

"I finished digging out his grave yesterday." Eliot inserted.

Everyone went still, but he continued. "Unfortunately, I came back this morning and someone had filled it in overnight."

"What?" Caroline asked in confusion. "Why would someone do that?"

Eliot, Sophie and Nate all looked at one another with knowing glances. Each silently urged the other to speak up. It was finally Sophie who answered her question.

"It was Parker." She paused and contemplated how she would move forward. Everyone was still sensitive discussing the loss of their dear friend. Even Chaos had lost his excitable spark. Sophie psychoanalyzed his behavior by saying he lost his drive because Hardison was no longer there to motivate him.

Sophie continued. "A few years ago Hardison was buried alive on one of our jobs. He almost died in that coffin." Eliot and Nate looked away. "Parker kept him alive. She kept him from giving up."

Eliot coughed and interrupted. "Parker can't stand the thought of…him…being shoved back in a grave."

"Well it's either that or cremation. I don't think she will like that idea either." Chaos interjected a little frustrated. "It's been three weeks. He can't stay above ground for long though, he will drip all over the morgue floor and we do not want zombie leakage on the facility premises. General Locke will have us thrown out."

"But that's the problem!" Caroline sat up taller. "He isn't decomposing."

"What?" Eliot and Chaos regurgitated simultaneously.

Sophie and Caroline had been checking on him almost on a daily basis, and after three weeks his vitals still mimicked the signs of only having just died. His temperature was lower, but still within the range of someone who had died only two hours prior. They checked his vitals and everything was still nonmoving.

Nate rubbed his face wishing he had grabbed a bottle of scotch before he walked in.

The room seemed stuffier now and everyone was confused and tired.

"How can he not be decomposing?" Eliot asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know!" Caroline barked at him feeling as if she was being personally attacked. She quickly got up and paced the room. "Part of the cure must have worked, and it has to be impacting his body decomposition process."

"Either way, we need to make a decision on this. We need to have some sort of ceremony. Parker needs to move on." Eliot said. The closest person in his life wouldn't even talk to him anymore. It drove him mad along with the grief of losing one of his brothers. He tried to stop her in the hall once, but she merely shrugged it off saying she had to go to the bathroom.

"What about Parker?" A voice uttered from the doorway.

Everyone clamped their mouths shut as they turned to see Parker hovering at the edge of the entryway. She was as quiet as a mouse, as usual, but her appearance had slowly morphed into something they weren't used to. She wore a baggy shirt and some leggings, the dark circles under her eyes were unmistakable and she seemed to stoop a little lower. She had kept eating, but there was something lost in the way she looked that took everyone aback.

"Hey." Eliot said, slowly hopping off of the barstool but keeping his distance. It was like trying to get a cat to come closer. You don't want to move too quickly or they will be frightened away.

Parker didn't respond.

"What are you talking about?" She asked shifting herself from one foot to the other.

"We're talking about…" Eliot offered, but couldn't finish.

Nate decided it was time for him to take up the reigns. "We are talking about Hardison's burial."

He saw the veins in Parker's neck pop and her jaw tighten.

"There's no need." She responded after a moment.

Chaos and Caroline looked at her as if she had sprouted another head, but she didn't pay any attention.

"What do you mean, there's no need?" Eliot asked.

Parker shrugged, but it was plain to see she was doing everything in her power to keep from breaking down. Hardison's death was still very fresh to her.

"Parker." Nate said calmly. "Alec Hardison is dead."

Parker couldn't keep her face from snarling at him. He looked back at her calmly, but his thoughts wandered around the notion that she was becoming more and more zombielike through these past few weeks.

"His body is still in the morgue." She argued moving in the room slightly, but still keeping her distance. Parker's posture surprised and disgusted Sophie. Her entire body frame was set in a way that protected her from her team members, almost like they were the ones that caused his death.

"That's because you won't let us bury him." Eliot retorted, thinking of the hours he spent in the hot sun yesterday digging out a nice plot of land.

Parker looked over at him. They locked eyes for a few moments and he knew he had crossed the line.

"Listen, Parker." Sophie started.

"Don't" Parker intruded holding up her hand. She looked around the room to see all those faces staring back at her. In truth, those weeks had been the hardest of her life, even worse than after the incident five years ago, because this time she shunned everyone, this time, she was alone. Her guilt trickled through her veins deeper and deeper every night until she was sure her blood had been replaced by silver ice that was cold and unforgiving. It was strange how different the feeling was now that he was really gone. While she, Eliot and Chaos were on their own, she knew he was still searching for her, still out there waiting for when she was ready to reveal herself. She now suffered the consequences for never being able to let forgiveness in her heart, never going to him and forgiving him. Everything would have been different if she had just let love back into her heart.

Now though, that wasn't an option. There was no hope to get him back; no way she could set things right, at least not for that.

"It was my fault…that this…that he…I wasn't patient…" Her voice choked but she kept moving forward. "I made the mistakes, and I understand that."

Everyone sat stock still unsure of how to process this new side of Parker. Caroline had never ever seen her admit defeat. The air seemed to settle and the shadows were sucking up most of the light in the room. They could still see Parker though, and her shaking form.

"Parker, don't…" Eliot said, reaching out to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. He was surprised to find that her shirt was damp with sweat, but she stayed strong shaking it off.

"Stop Eliot." She looked him straight in the eye, her voice still her own, but struggling.

He stepped back unsure of how their relationship could have taken such a drastic turn, but was somewhat relieved to see a grateful smile on her lips as he went to sit back down.

"I just need more time." She whispered.

No one responded, but everyone knew that they weren't going to bury Hardison anytime soon. Parker's sadness and magnetism enveloped the room like a warm blanket. They couldn't say no to her now.

Caroline gave a slight nod. Parker caught the quiet acknowledgement and turned gracefully toward the door.

She had almost walked out, but stopped herself at the last minute making a decision. Everyone waited in silence to see what would happen next.

Parker hesitated a moment and turned back around to the group.

"Also…" she said calmly looking down at her feet, then back up to the room.

Everyone sat forward, body's clenched unsure of what was about to be released.

Parker struggled more than they were used to, and a few of the team felt like they were trapped in an oven, unsure of when they were about to be baked alive.

"Sophie." Parker spoke, looking over at Sophie as she sat up a little straighter.

"I'm sorry you were tortured." Everyone sat wide eyed as Parker quickly wiped a tear away from her face.

Sophie's calming British accent opened the air a little, "That was long ago Parker. It's okay."

"That wasn't your fault Parker." Eliot said in a forceful voice. Despite everything the group had been through, the fact was, they had still be kidnapped and tortured because Nate traded Sophie for himself and Parker.

Parker stood silent for a moment, trying desperately to get the words out. It was like peanut butter lodged on the roof of her mouth and she couldn't quite get it out.

There was a long silence.

"It was." She whispered.

"Parker." Eliot said, disbelieving.

"It was the President's Book." Sophie spoke up. Everyone looked over at her in surprise.

"What?" Nate said, now completely lost.

Emotions were running high in the room, and no one knew what do to or where to turn.

"How did you know?" Parker breathed in horror.

"I heard one of the guards talking. They thought I was passed out, but I heard them. They said something about the President's Book being stolen. It wasn't much to go on, but I figured it out eventually." Her voice was like honey, trying to temper the situation. There was a lot of new information bouncing back and forth in the room and she didn't want it to get out of hand.

"I'm so sorry." Parker choked.

Both Nate and Eliot were looked back and forth between Sophie and Parker in shock. Both had been keeping a five year secret.

Eliot hadn't even understood what they were referring to until a small spark ignited in his mind sending him back in time to the movie they had watched all those years ago. His body was tense and not ready to handle this new information.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nate said to Sophie, louder than he intended.

She propped her hands on her hips, giving him a deadly glare. "Because it wouldn't have changed anything."

Parker was quickly backing toward the door feeling more and more like she wasn't welcome. Her mind told her what she did was right, but her emotions were fighting a losing battle as the group began to bicker.

Hate had taken over for so long, the team wasn't quite ready for forgiveness. Without another word Parker disappeared.

After a few hours, everyone wandered into their own rooms to absorb the information. Not a sound was made as silence engulfed the compound.

The only two up on the team were Mikel who was just finishing another workout and Parker who could no longer stay cooped up in her room.

Slowly, noise in the halls died away and people shut their doors and turned off their lights, yet not a single person caught the strange shift that happened that night. Down the long passageways and into the morgue, remained slabs of dead bodies...all except for one.


	33. Chapter 33

_Author's Note:_

**Again, thanks for the reviews. You are super awesome wonderful and have kept this story going. We have about two more chapters left (mayyybe three), but we are finally coming to an end and everyone will get some closure.**

Wolfofsheep: Yep, it's always nice when characters grow a little more. Thanks!

Betahime Tsukiko: You will just have to read this chapter to find out about the one 'not dead' body. I think even though Parker blames herself and she was the spark that ignited the Sophie kidnapping, everyone was really to blame for the team breakup. Eliot for always teasing Parker, Hardison too, Parker for going after the book, Nate for keeping secrets, and Sophie for going out on her own to gather intel, I mean honestly, it's always better to have backup. Thanks!

Socialoutcastwinneroftheyear: Here's more. And I had to get through the sad Parker chapters so we can have happy chapters!

Mony19: Yes, I am definitely not a fan of killing off characters, I like happy endings. It was very painful to write the past few chapters, but they had to be done.

Hoellenwauwau: Thanks! I think Sophie is like the mom, and for a while she had lost her grifting gifts, but never her motherly nature. She cares enough to let her children learn on their own, to let Parker learn on her own. Even if it takes 5 years.

Zippy zany: I know, and don't worry, all will work out for Eliot, it just needs to come out at the right times. Just be patient. :)

Bwaller147: Thank you! Thank you! The Hardison death scene was very difficult to write. I hate killing characters...except Dr. Craver...that wasn't too hard. ;)

Koxie: You are hilarious! I love, love, love your rules for reading the updates!

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><p>Please read and review. :)<p>

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><p><em><span>Chapter 33:<span>_

_Almost four weeks ago:_

_Hardison knew what was happening and he couldn't control it. He could feel the blood in his body, which was once there to keep him healthy, slowly and painfully transform into what felt like fire ready to burn through his flesh. He couldn't control his movements and all he wanted to do was bellow in fury. He slammed himself on the bars that confined him, pacing angrily back and forth. His mind no longer recognized the movement of time, all he recognized was a red fury and throbbing pain. His skin itched and burned, ready to flake off leaving him with only bone, his muscles screamed urging him to attack anything that he could get his hands on. He could feel the brain cells pop in his brain and he knew that his mind was not long for the conscious and human world. He would lose what made him who he is; he would no longer be the master hacker. _

_Worst of all, beyond the physical pain, worse than losing his identity and finally relinquishing number one hacker status to Chaos was the knowledge that after this process, which was altering his body and brain chemistry far more quickly than he imagined, was the fact that he would be another faceless zombie trying to kill the people he loved most…the person he loved most. _

_A day may have gone by, he wasn't quite sure, but he was no longer in control. His vision blurred in and out sending the prison cell that he was in into a sideways spin causing him to careen up against the bars and fall flat on the floor. He no longer thought of what might happen, because his mind was quickly letting go of that world. His mind was entering something unknown. _

_He would see faces that he would recognize, and sometimes comprehend, but the desire for flesh sent him slamming up against the bars and shoving his arms out reaching to claw their skin. He would yell and scream, but he could not reach anyone through the bars. He kept trying, his mind not giving him any other options. _

_That's when he heard her voice. It was like a dream, a voice that he would remember anywhere. Her face flashed through his vision. He couldn't remember her name, but he remembered that blonde hair and slender figure. _

_This beautiful woman, someone he wanted desperately to protect while at the same time, the infection pushing him forward to bite into her flesh. _

"_Alec?" She said softly from right outside of the cell._

_His body loosened. She had said his name. He could remember that much. It was enough to quiet him down and he stood there keeping his murderous temptations at bay long enough to keep her safe. _

_He felt his body getting very hot. His skin screamed at him, wanting to relieve the dry and itchy skin. _

"_Alec, you need to move to the back of the cell." _

_It was too much to ask of him. He wanted to yell and cry and slam his fist against the wall all at the same time. He knew the closer he got to her, the insatiable appetite he would have would cause harm to the only person in the world that he wanted to protect right now. And she needed to be protected from him. He let out a loud reflexive moan, his mind and body having trouble making decisions. _

"_I…c-can't do it." Hardison whimpered. _

"_Alec." She walked up close to him. _

_Hardison growled and pulled himself back. He couldn't understand what she was doing, but things were starting to get fuzzier. He didn't have much time. He would kill her soon without even knowing it. He ached at the thought._

_His body felt as if it was incinerating him from the inside out. Flashes of red were shooting across his vision and the sound of his blood vessels popping made him nauseous. _

_Words were now unclear and he wasn't sure if he'd heard everything she was saying._

"_I need you to make it, Alec. I need you." The blonde said to him. _

_He wasn't even sure he heard it all, but he understood enough to trust this woman; to never do anything to hurt her. _

"_I can't." He whimpered again, but he was calmer this time and more focused on standing in one place. _

_That's when she did it. She entered the cell. _

_He let out a scream of pain and staggered himself against the back bars trying to provide as much distance from her as possible. Even on the brink of insanity when his mind was only simplistic words and emotions, this woman was still at the forefront, still the one that he would protect no matter what. _

"_I need you to stand in the middle of the cell and be as still as you can." She said firmly. _

_Hardison groaned again. He didn't understand what she was saying. His mind was focused on staying as far away from her as possible._

"_ALEC COME OVER HERE AND STAND STILL!" She shouted. _

_Hardison curled over slightly desperately fighting the animalistic urges of his body and mind. _

_He shoveled himself to what he thought was the middle of the cell. _

_She held her breath as she slowly took a step up to him. His eyes were burning now and he did everything in his power to stay still. The entire time telling himself to stay in control; not to touch her. _

"_I need you to remember who you are. Remember who we are." She whispered. _

_He understood what she wanted and it was harder than he ever would have imagined. Just to do something so simple near her made him want to barrel into a corner. His face was still in anguish but he slowly threaded his left arm into the first armhole of the straightjacket. He was shaking uncontrollably, but it was in. _

"_Done." The woman said with a breath. _

_That's when everything went hazy and spun out of control. _

For an indiscriminant amount of time, Hardison was no longer Hardison. He moved the way the infection told him and what once made him who he was, was being snuffed out like a candle. He would remember a fair few glimpses of a bathroom and slam up against a wall. He would hear people talking and know uncontrollably that he wanted to kill them, to bite into them and to take what he was craving.

He would be moved around, but he was not aware. Everything was a long stream of colors and sounds and horrible putrid smells, though that may have been the burning in his nostrils.

Hardison, as he was, was gone.

Gone until he felt the needle prick into his neck that is…

After that small stinging sensation, everything went pitch black.

Time passed.

When he awoke, he wasn't sure for how long.

It might have been days or weeks, he couldn't tell.

Hardison tried to open his eyes, but they would not comply. He tried to move his fingers, but they would not move. He laid soundlessly, eyes closed on a cold slab in a cold room. Things didn't make sense, he had no idea where he was, but his mind was whizzing with information. He was starting to pull together cohesive sentences, but his body would still not obey his will.

Moments later he heard some commotion. He tried to talk, but his voice box wouldn't activate. Really, nothing was listening to him. He was not brain dead, he was paralyzed.

He heard voices talking to one another and they were moving closer to him. He felt them pull the thin plastic sheet off of his body.

A moment later a woman with surgical gloves pulled his left eyelid open. Everything was blurry and she was flashing a light into his eye. She began assessing his state, but his pupils did not dilate. She wasn't aware that he could see her. He tried, but his body refused to obey his demands. When she pulled the other eye open he noticed Sophie next to Caroline. They were both talking about him.

"It just doesn't make sense." He heard Caroline say. Her voice was high pitched and he wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"I took the tissue and blood sample and they both look fine." Caroline continued. "No infection left in his body."

"But he is still dead." Sophie said to Caroline.

If Hardison's heart were beating, it would have stopped. They thought he was dead. His mind urged his body to comply, to move, to do something…anything to notify these women that he was still there.

His mind quickly shot to the idea of being buried alive. He tried again, even to just move his pinky toe, but nothing happened.

The two women left, continuing their conversation into the hallway further and further away from Hardison.

They put the sheet back on him, and his eyes were closed again, but he knew if he didn't find a way to communicate soon, his life would be over.

Days passed and nothing happened. He would try and try but it was hopeless. Caroline and Sophie would come in every day around the same time to examine him and take more blood and a tissue sample. It was no use.

Every so often his mind would drift off to sleep, but he would soon wake up trying again.

At one point, only a few days after he had awoken, he heard a noise in the room. Someone came in, but it was not during the usual intervals that Sophie and Caroline entered. His eyes were still glued shut and there was still a thin plastic sheet over his body, but someone quiet was in there.

He listened carefully. The person slowly pulled the sheet off of his body.

He waited, unsure if the person was going to speak.

"I don't know what to do." The soft voice mumbled.

His mind soared when he heard her voice. It was her, the woman of his dreams. It was Parker.

He wanted to scream her name, but nothing came out.

She continued. "Why did all of this have to happen? It's my fault."

He wanted to get up and comfort her more than he ever had in his entire life. His body screamed to move, his mind willed his body to call out her name, to mumble, grunt…anything.

He laid there helpless as he listened to her cry.

He was desperate to open his eyes, to get a look at her, to see her face one last time. With all of his willpower, his body refused.

"I knew you were looking for me, and…" she sniffled, "I was just so angry, and it was all for nothing, and now I've lost you."

_You haven't!_ He screamed in his mind. _I'm here! Please, Parker, I'm here!_

"Just know I love you, Alec. I've loved you since we met, and I will love you forever."

His heart sank. He wanted more than anything to just let her know that he was there, that he loved her just as much and that they could still be happy together. They could still live the rest of their days together if he could just move.

After another few minutes she left and he was left in another dark room. His mind went into a frenzy trying desperately to move. Anything he could manage to alert them to his conscious state.

Hours went by and nothing happened. He was screaming at himself, half going insane in the process.

_Damnit!_ His mind screamed at his finger to move. It didn't. He screamed at it again. Still nothing.

Finally everything converged on him and his mind screamed louder than he ever anticipated. Within that moment his voice box came to life and a soft grunt was heard from his throat.

He stopped in shock. He wasn't sure if he was the one that had actually grunted. He screamed again and another soft grunt emitted from his throat.

His mind soared. He continued and slowly things began to respond. His index finger twitched, his leg jutted to the side; everything slowly coming to life.

Finally, his eyes opened. His arms moved and he managed to grab the plastic covering off of his body. It slid over his skin and down to the floor. He then was staring up at the ceiling.

He was in a morgue and his body spiraled in to a panic, desperate to get out and move. He hadn't realized they had left him in the room with all of the other dead bodies.

He worked to move his neck and it eventually relaxed enough to give him a sidelong glance at the door.

After another hour of shifting and turning and flexing, he managed to get his body to rock to the side. He moved it back and forth until the wheels on the gurney where he laid slid and he fell to the floor.

Unfortunately, his body hit the ground with a loud thump, his arms currently not strong enough to catch him. He let out a painful yet gleeful whimper of pain and joy as his face lay against the cold tiled floor.

Everything started working much faster after that and he was now moving his arms, moving his legs, pulling himself up into a seated position, then finally able to pull himself into a standing position with the help of the gurney.

He had almost fallen once or twice as the gurney slid against the floor, but quickly, inch by inch, step by step he was moving…he was alive!

As soon as he was able to move, the next urge rushed through him. His throat was parched and his body ached for something to quench his thirst and satisfy his hunger. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but he estimated it could have been weeks.

He took a few steps and then fell up against the door. He managed to grab for the handle and pull it open. His body used the walls to hold him up.

There was not a living soul along the passageway and he could tell that it must be very late at night. He travelled along the hallway, lit by single hanging lights. It was a ghostly look, but he was relieved to see there was a lack of zombies in the facility. He recognized some of the emblems on the wall as a military compound and assumed they were in General Locke's safe haven in Washington.

He pulled himself around a corner in the corridor and found a large pantry. He saw stainless steel cooking tables, pots and pans, and then he stopped staring at it with immense appreciation. There in the center of the room, next to another stainless steel table was an oversized silver refrigerator. His body arched toward it, his movement now more fluid than minutes before.

He got to the refrigerator and pulled the door open. A bright light streamed from it and he looked inside with a pleasure that he had not felt in a long time. His eyes immediately landed on the milk carton that sat at the very center of the refrigerator. He grabbed for it, opened the top and began chugging the milk.

He guzzled it down, famished. Some of it poured down the side of his face, but he was in indescribable bliss. His white t-shirt and boxers were getting drenched, but nothing else mattered as his body finally came to life.

_CRASH!_

Hardison was caught off guard and unwillingly pulled the milk carton away from his lips. He turned to see what the commotion was about.

He looked over and saw shards of a broken purple ceramic mug dispersed across the floor, liquid, which he guessed was tea, spewed throughout the floor all centered around one person.

His face froze as his eyes moved up her legs to her torso and over her shoulders to her face. He knew who it was instantly. Her blonde locks were something that he would never forget. Her eyes were something that he never thought he would see again.

She stood there, frozen in place, the love of his life; Parker.

Parker couldn't speak, couldn't move, and couldn't breathe. Half of her assumed she had officially lost her mind, while the other half was trying to rationalize what was happening.

There, a mere few feet away from her was the man of her dreams, the man that she would give her own life to see alive again. There he was, standing with a carton of milk in a white t-shirt and boxers.

"Alec?" Her voice choked.


	34. Chapter 34

_Author's Note:_

**So this is the last official chapter (other than the epilogue). I hope this ties up a few loose ends and gives some much needed lovin among the Leverage team. I am going to say this now, and I will say it again in the next chapter, thank you so much for reviewing and supporting this story. YOU ARE THE SUPER BEST!**

BetahimeTsukiko: I know, Hardison had it tough throughout this story, but I think he is one of the strongest and most loyal members of the team. I love him!

Meagan – Yay! Thanks! Yeah, I guess I shouldn't admit this, because it will ruin some of my cliffhangers in future stories, but if there are three people that I could never kill off, it would be Parker, Hardison and Eliot. I love that trio. Thank you for reviewing when you can and for your support. Hopefully I will come up with something good for a new story!

Wolfofsheep: Yay Hardison! Thanks!

Mony19: I'm both sad and happy it's almost over. These zombie's are wearing me out, but I loved writing this story. I was originally going to skip the Hardison chapter, but I just don't think he got enough face time in this story. We didn't really get to see all the suffering he went through during the process. I was absolutely about to put orange soda in the fridge, I actually wrote it in, then deleted it because I thought it was too convenient.

Bwaller147: haha, yay, you are awesome! I've only watched a few Walking Dead episodes but that is a great show. Thank you for your continuous support! I think my new favorite line is Alec is alive too. Lol.

Hoellenwauwau: Poor Hardison always gets stuck with the death situations, doesn't he? Poor guy can't catch a break!

Angie: Lol, you are lucky, I've put others through eight months of torture and you get to read the chapters in one sitting lol. Thank you for your compliments! I'm sorry for temporarily derailing your dissertation (but you deserved a break! ).

Koxie: :D I'm glad you waited, hopefully this chapter will be worth waiting as well!

AliasMarie: Thanks for the catch-up reviews. I never suffer through long reviews, I LOVE them.

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><p>Please Read &amp; Review! Only one more chapter left!<p>

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><p><em>Chapter 34:<em>

Parker never got the chance to run up to Hardison and fall into his deep embrace, let alone understand what was going on at all. It was like time had stopped and all sound and movement was sucked out of the room. Minutes could have passed, but before she could bring herself back to reality, Mikel had wandered into the kitchen and slammed her fist onto the emergency button located by the doorway. The entire campus was outfitted for a fast reaction to a zombie breach, no one wanted to take the risk of infecting those innocent on the campus.

Mikel, with her fierce and protective nature pulled Parker backward by the shirt and within minutes the room was swarmed with armed guards holding guns.

"Don't shoot him!" Parker screamed as Hardison's eyes went wide. The carton of milk slipped out of his hand and then flipped onto the floor leaking a pool of ivory liquid. His hands went up in the air immediately as he looked back and forth at the guards like a deer caught in headlights.

Mikel knowing Parker, pulled her out of the room, dragging her along the hallway. If Hardison was still infected, it could put them all at risk. She refused to let that happen, especially after all they had been through.

_19 hours later: _

"I am afraid to say it." Caroline whispered as she stared at an annoyed Hardison behind a reinforced window pane.

"It's just impossible." Sophie breathed standing next to her. They were both going on zero sleep as they monitored and tested Hardison for any traces of the infection.

"You've literally brought someone back to life." Chaos said, grinning. "You are an evil genius!"

Caroline gave him a sideways look and then turned her head back to Hardison.

"I don't want to make another mistake." Caroline mumbled as she tossed the idea of releasing Hardison back and forth in her mind. Her memory wandered back to her mother and father. She could save them now.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she pounded those feeling back down into submission. The truth was, her mistake with Hardison, the way she combined the cures actually overcame the infection and brought him back. She couldn't believe that of all the people working on this treatment, she was the one who found the key for curing phase three and four of the infection. They could really start rebuilding the world and it started with her confirmation of the cure, right now, this very moment.

Sophie and Chaos looked at her while Hardison crossed his arms through the window. She looked at each person then finally spoke.

"He can be released…Alec Hardison is cured."

Sophie let out a shrill noise but Caroline held up her hand in caution.

"But…" She stated clearly, looking sternly at Sophie, "I am keeping him here for another twenty-four hours of observation."

Sophie frowned slightly, but nodded.

Caroline continued, "Keep Parker away until he is officially released. I don't want her contaminating any of the tests."

"She's been fine; we could at least let her come in the room." Sophie suggested, knowing how Parker must feel being monitored constantly, since Hardison's revival, just in case he were to still be a risk to the facility.

"I don't think so." Chaos interrupted. "She already tried to break in here twice."

Sophie rolled her eyes, her shoulders dropping slightly.

Hardison gleaned that he was still under observation and went to sit down.

"I've got it!" Sophie yelped, her shrill voice rising with a gleeful and exuberant tone. "We are going to celebrate this…with a party!"

"A what?" Chaos moaned.

"There are piles of useless dress clothes in the warehouse out back and it will give everyone something to do while we wait." Sophie's British accent was growing thicker and thicker by the second as she paced heatedly back and forth.

Caroline gave a slow nod, never having been subjected to Sophie's party antics before.

Sophie turned on her heel and took quick, long strides out of the lab, her voice trailing behind her in excitement.

_18 hours later:_

Parker walked past the auditorium and glanced in. She had been through crazed nights believing that she didn't really see him, that he wasn't really there. No one would let her back there; afraid she would do something that would risk the safety of everyone inside the compound. The only thing that kept her sane was this party that Sophie was putting together.

Her eyes caught sight of Sophie pointing at a banner, demanding it be moved up higher, while Nate rolled his eyes. A few families with kids came out to help put balloons out and decorate tables with streamers. Everyone was in great spirits knowing that the cure had been found, that they no longer had to live in fear of the infection.

Parker kept walking, past the auditorium, her body leading her to the gym. She knew he was there, venting his anger. It's where he spent most of his time lately.

She rounded a few corners and entered the small doorway. The room opened up into an expansive gym. The room was piled with equipment in no particular order and the tattered blue wrestling mat lay in the center.

She could hear the clink of the weights being lifted off to the side. Parker remained hidden in the shadows as she watched him continue on, endlessly. The musty smell was something Parker was familiar with after months of practice, learning the moves he taught her.

After another few minutes the weights dropped to the floor and she watched as he rubbed a towel over his face, removing the sweat. His eyebrows were furrowed and there were extra wrinkles on his forehead. Parker recognized those wrinkles…he was obviously troubled.

He got up from his seat and began walking across the mat, heading to the opposite end of the room to work on his calves. Parker didn't waste a moment as she sprung from the shadows and lunged at the fearless man in the center of the gym.

He was oblivious to her surprise attack and she was able to make a grab for his wrist, attempting to twist it around his back and force him to his knees. Though he was unsuspecting, his reactions were still the best Parker had ever seen. His body whizzed around, aiming to kick Parker's legs out from under her. She grinned as she leapt like a ballerina over his kick. They had practiced this sparring movement before.

Left, right, left, she aimed punches. He deflected each, and then swung around her trying to pull her down from behind. The movements were so quick and Parker was surprised at her ability to keep up. She figured after the last month they had been through, her body wouldn't move like it used to.

After another ten minutes Parker and Eliot were sparring like old times. Parker would use sneaky moves and her slender figure to move out of holds that Eliot typically used on larger thugs. Eliot laughed as she tried to slip through his legs and kick the back of his knees out. Unfortunately for her, Eliot was ready for this and grabbed a hold of her ankles.

"Hey!" She screeched, laughing. "That's cheating."

"Says the girl who jumped out of nowhere to attack me."

Parker shrugged, grinning from ear to ear.

Eliot loosened his grip slightly. He barely caught sight of her devilish grin as she pulled her ankle from his clawlike grasp and kicked his legs out from under him.

He fell flat on his back and let out a painful huff.

"I'm a wounded man. Why would you do that?" Eliot's jovial voice echoed through the auditorium.

"Shush. That was like a month ago. Your leg is fine now." Parker responded sarcastically blowing a stray hair out of her face and pulling herself up into a seated position next to Eliot.

"Easy for you to say." He complained.

There was a long silence after that as they just sat there. There were only a few times over the past few years where they were uncomfortably silent. It typically revolved around Nate. This time though, it was different.

"Eliot?" Parker finally spoke softly. She kept herself still, evaluating his reactions. She knew that more than anyone, to understand how Eliot was feeling, it wasn't about what he said, it was about what you saw hidden on his face.

He glanced over at her with a disappointed expression.

She turned her head back down to the floor as she picked at her finger nail.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you…I really should never have been so stupid!" Eliot listened to her depressing voice slowly evolve into a disbelieving high pitched tone by the end of the sentence.

"It's okay." He said.

"It's not…I know when you are lying." Parker gave him a glare, watching the twitches at the edges of his lip and the clenching of his jaw.

He looked over at her with a sorrowful smile.

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing."

Parker shot him a surprised expression and shifted her bodyweight to get better look at him.

"I'm the one that was messing with you that night. I remember, because…" he gave a soft chuckle, "because Hardison said that it would eventually come back to bite me in the ass."

"Eliot." Parker admonished. "This was not your fault. It was mine…it doesn't even matter anymore."

Eliot's eyebrow raised. "It doesn't matter?" He couldn't believe that of all people she was the one that was ready to move on, to let things go. That was never, ever, since he'd known her, in her nature. Though it didn't look it from the outside, she liked to be in control.

"I'm done Eliot. I'm done holding onto the past."

Eliot was silent.

Parker continued. "And I'm done with being angry…and I want you to be done with it too."

Eliot was more surprised by this statement than the surprise attack he had experienced just minutes ago.

Parker refused to speak up this time. She wanted to hear him, hear him finally share some of his feelings.

"I just…" Eliot stuttered, looking around the room for any type of exit.

Parker waited.

"It's different when you have something to fight for, Parker." His body tensed up and Parker could tell he had been holding this in for a while.

"I know." Parker whispered. Parker had noticed over the past two weeks how even Mikel had been avoiding him. Parker watched as Mikel did everything in her power to avoid the gym while he was there and excused herself to be alone more frequently. Eliot was obviously, on top of everything else, struggling with this surprise shift from Mikel.

She waited another minute then shimmied up to him and wrapped her arms around his muscular shoulders. Despite his sweaty shirt and the fact that her arms barely wrapped around him, his body relaxed. Her head rested quietly on his shoulder and after another moment he wrapped his arm around her appreciating having his best friend by his side.

"Eliot. Things happen in life, but I believe more now than ever, that they happen for a reason. It's time you start believing that again too."

With that, she pulled herself up off the floor and left the gym, leaving a reflective Eliot in her wake.

_Hours later:_

Parker stood, make-up complete and hair done, in her cubbyhole of a room. The room was meant to provide privacy, but people liked to be out of them, they were so small and desolate.

She stared down, evaluating the evening gown that lay on her bed. Sophie had picked it out for her, she knew. Sophie was keenly aware, even now, after five years, what dresses really made Parker stand out in a crowd.

This dress was a dark emerald and had a soft shimmering fabric that flowed to the floor. The dress had a mature look about it, without straps. She brushed her hand along the fabric.

Her body became anxious and rigid at the thought of walking into the party and seeing the love of her life there. Would he be the same person? Would he even remember her? The anticipation and apprehension encased her body as she slipped into the dress.

Sitting on her bed, she pulled on her silver high heels. Everything was silent in the room, but her mind yelled at her as if from a loudspeaker. She gazed at herself in the mirror and barely recognized the person that peered back at her. It had been so long since she had felt beautiful, had felt like there was hope.

She left her room and walked slowly along the corridor. She was already late. She had been staring at her dress for nearly half an hour, but her body knew it was time to see him, and led her in the direction of the music and the auditorium.

She moved gradually, getting closer and closer. Reaching the door was like reaching a cliff that you knew you had to jump off of. She peered inside the auditorium. Her body froze as the entire room was lit up in multicolored lights, shadows dancing off of the walls. People were laughing by the punch bowl and little girls were chasing the little boys around the outside of the room. Everything was beautiful.

Her eyes landed upon Eliot at one end of the room as Mikel talked with Sophie and Nate at the other end. That's when the overwhelming sense of nervousness latched hold of her.

She quickly skirted past the doors along the corridor and around the corner and out of sight.

Hardison had been sitting, back up against the wall in the hallway for the past half hour. Sweat dripped down the back of his neck. The past few days had been very stressful for him. Not only had he come back from the infection, but he had been listed as clinically dead for nearly three weeks. He spent the entire last evening in the isolation room testing his knowledge on computers, recalling facts about his life and making sure he wasn't feeling the slightest inkling for meat. When they released him, it took him a solid hour before he stepped out of the evaluation room. The thought of being a threat to anyone kept him cautious. Now, after waiting and waiting, he would finally see the person he had been itching to see. Her eyes were engrained in his soul and he couldn't forget the way she looked nearly two days ago when they had seen each other again for the first time.

Now, after getting in his suit, he couldn't even make it into the auditorium. He couldn't even face her. So instead, the coward in him pulled him around the corner and had him sitting on the floor in panic. He could still hear the music, enticing him to come in. It was his party for goodness sake.

"Hardison?" Her voice caught him off guard and he jumped up into a standing position.

She had just rounded the corner and they both froze, just like two days ago, staring at one another in incomprehensible fear and disbelief.

"Parker." He said softly taking her in. His body was like a statue, frozen in place just focusing on memorizing every feature; her silky hair, now in a loose bun, her astounding figure and startling dress.

The music dropped to a slower melodic tune in the background.

Hardison rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. They continued to stare at one another in silence.

Parker, still wondering if she were dreaming, took in his handsome features, the ones that she prayed to see again.

Her mind made up, she slowly stepped forward.

He remained motionless, though she could tell he was anxious.

She took another step forward, her eyes never leaving his.

Finally after one more movement forward, he reflexively stepped back for fear that he would somehow hurt her. His mind flashed back to the painful moments during the infection when he used all his strength not to kill the woman he loved.

"Alec." She whispered.

He nodded his head slightly for her to go on.

"Can I have this dance?" Parker was surer of herself than ever before.

He was almost knocked off of his feet by the dazzling smile she gave him. He could barely keep himself upright as she took another step forward.

They stood there just inches apart from the other, neither making the first move. He could feel her breath reaching up to touch him.

The music in the background and the shadows in the hallway kept the atmosphere intimate. She could smell the food that they made, especially for this occasion. Parker felt the room closing them in, pulling her to him.

Their magnetic relationship drew them closer to one another until there was nothing left to do, but touch.

Ever so slowly he pulled his hand up to her face. He hesitated by her cheek, afraid he might somehow hurt her.

Her throat hitched and she wanted to leap into his arms, but she remained still, waiting for him.

His hand was there for what felt like an eternity until finally he reached down and brushed a lock of her blonde hair from her face and curled it behind her ear. His touch was like fire, the amazing fire that brought you to life.

"I think I can still dance..." He finally responded after releasing the breath he was holding. The spell was broken and they both felt something new wash over them.

He offered up his hand. Her gentle fingers fell perfectly in his strong grasp. She rested her other arm on his shoulder as they slowly swayed to the music. Flashes of their time together at the school gymnasium about a month ago rushed in and out of her thoughts. The feeling of closeness and security enveloped her into the warm blanket of his embrace.

Her body felt as though a one-hundred pound weight had been lifted. The amazing feeling that had disappeared long ago was back and with a magnetic force stronger than she could ever contain.

Both danced in the hallway, eyes closed, soaking in the sensation of the others touch. The feeling was like none other. They had literally overcome death itself to be together, but the only thing that crossed through their minds was the combined certainty that they would never, ever part from one another again.

After another moment they slowly swayed to a stop. Parker looked up into his chocolate eyes and she knew that she had waited long enough.

"I love you." She paused. "I love you more than anything." She told him, with a confidence that she didn't know she had.

His hands tightened around her waist just drinking in the words.

After a moment he gave a silly smile.

"I know." He joked in his jovial Hardison voice. Her heart skipped a beat as that carefree voice surrounded her.

After his laughter quieted down, they stood in silence.

He finally reached up and placed both of his strong hands on each side of her face. The touch was intoxicating and she was mesmerized. She remained frozen as he began to lean in.

This was it. She could feel it. That feeling where the world began to converge on itself in a myriad of shimmering lights, where time leaps forward and you are nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Then as his lips touched hers, time slammed to a stop. Five years felt like an eternity now as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her in tighter, up against his body, as their kiss grew deeper.

She wanted to cry and laugh and dance and sing, but all she could do was push herself closer to him and continue to press her lips against his.

_In the auditorium: _

Eliot leaned along the back wall as a few kids darted in front of him.

He was in a particularly foul mood this afternoon. Life was moving on for others, but not for him.

Was he meant to be alone? Was it all about the one night stand?

He glanced over at Mikel who talked avidly with Nate and Sophie. He had never seen her in such a magnificent dress and it bothered him more than he realized that she was keeping her distance. Their relationship had grown fast, but was cut short and he had no idea why. He wondered if this is what it felt like for Aimee, his old girlfriend from his home town, when he left her all those years ago. He quickly washed those thoughts away, trying to stop the memories from his family from bubbling up again.

He grumbled to himself as he turned his head away and looked at his watch. If he had to stare at her all night, he would be fine to just go back to the gym; the tuxedo that Sophie picked out for him itched around the collar anyway.

After another few minutes of staring at the floor, a Hebrew voice caught his attention.

"You will dance with me." She said in her commanding voice.

He looked at her in disbelief. She did have a habit of being very direct.

He looked at the door, then at Sophie who gave him a glare, letting him know that the only way he would be leaving this party is if it were over her dead body.

He gave a short nod and Mikel dragged him out on the dance floor.

There were others dancing and the music slowed. Eliot wrapped his arms around her waist as she gently rested her arms around his neck.

They swayed to the music, but Eliot wasn't enjoying the dance.

A solid minute went by and neither said anything. He could feel her clench every so often, then relax, then tighten again. He knew her habits well. Her fighting style was relaxed and confident. This wasn't like her.

Her chin was now on his shoulder, but she turned slightly.

"Eliot." She said in her Hebrew accent.

He remained still for a moment then thought better of it. He decided it was time to follow Parker's advice, to open up a little bit, to choose to be happy.

"I care about you Mikel."

He could tell that she was caught off guard. He smiled at himself. He didn't catch her off guard very often.

Without another beat, she whispered something in his ear that made him freeze.

"Eliot, I'm pregnant."

Everything stopped at that moment. Eliot no longer heard the music, he no longer saw the lights, he only saw her. She quickly pulled back and bit her lip.

She tried to read him, to figure out if he was angry, frustrated, something, anything, but all he did was stand there.

"I-, I'm going to be a dad?" He asked her quietly enough for no one else to hear.

She gave him a slight nod, and with a small grin watched his expressions carefully.

Without losing another second he had her wrapped in his arms, lifting her off the ground.

Others would have caught onto Eliot and Mikel's excitement, but there was another commotion going on. Without warning the entire auditorium, filled to the brim with hundreds of people, started clapping as, hand-in-hand, Parker and Hardison entered the auditorium.

Eliot clapped, as did Mikel, but neither were paying the least bit attention to the incoming pair.

"Okay everyone." Nate's voice boomed out of the speakers. He stood on the stage at the front of the room and tapped on the microphone a few times. "Let's invite our two honorees of this celebration up to the stage."

Nate quickly motioned to Hardison who was relishing the newfound attention and to Caroline who tried to back into a corner of the room.

Hardison hopped up on stage with a gleeful expression, refusing to let go of Parker's hand. She awkwardly followed him up. Nate gave her a small smile, which she returned.

Caroline was shoved up the stairs by both Chaos and Sophie and stumbled up next to Hardison.

"Now let's give an official round of applause for the woman who can bring the dead to life, and for, as Colin Mason's painted on the celebratory banner, 'The Geek Who Lived.'

Everyone erupted into laughter and then another layer of applause. Hardison caught sight of Chaos who gave him a snide but pleasant look. Hardison tipped his head with a sarcastic smirk and looked back at Parker who was now giving another one of her dazzling smiles.

Hardison leaned himself up to the microphone, shrugged his shoulders and gave a beaming grin.

"It's the Age of the Geek, Baby!"


	35. Epilogue

_Author's Note_:

_Final Author's Note:_

Thank you so much for your support throughout this story. You are all super awesome and I wouldn't have finished it without your feedback and enthusiasm!

As a side note, I am now in love with the idea of Mikel and Eliot's baby... :D I hope you are too.

I will be taking a hiatus on writing for a little while...unless I come up with another idea in the near future (ideas welcome!).

Thanks again. Age of the Geek!

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><p><em>Please review the full story!<em>

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><p><em>Epilogue:<em>

"I don't see it anywhere!" Parker fussed ripping open boxes left and right.

Her voice echoed down a row in the cavernous warehouse to where Hardison and Nate were pulling more oversized moving boxes from the higher shelves.

"Be careful!" Sophie called up to Hardison as the metal shelving wobbled slightly.

"I'm fine." Hardison huffed.

"You won't be if we don't find it soon." Sophie's British nagging tone was bubbling to the surface of her worried voice.

"Guys!" Parker yelled again.

"Nothing yet." Nate yelled back as he closed another useless box and shoved it to the side.

"I know, but we have company!" She yelled.

Immediately, Parker darted around the corner toward them. It didn't take long before they heard the grunting and heavy footsteps of zombies headed their way.

"I've got them." Sophie said confidently.

The skinnier zombie hobbled and moaned its way down the aisle toward them followed closely by a zombie the size of a walrus. The pus leaked from every crevice and his shirt was stained in a mucus green color.

Parker ducked as Sophie's gun erupted bursting through the sound barrier skyrocketing toward the slender zombie who was fast approaching.

The tranquilizer dart stuck straight in his neck and as the serum drained into his veins he quickly fell like a limp fish to the ground.

The heavier zombie kept barreling toward them. Sophie gave the group a smirk and sent a dart straight into his chest.

"That was the best you could do?" Hardison chided downward from on top of the shelving unit.

"It hit him, didn't it?" She called back glaring up at him.

"Shoot him again." Nate said.

"Well, you had a lot of space to work with." Hardison returned, waving at the zombie's enormous form and ignoring Nate's caution.

"He's still coming at us!" Parker screeched echoing Nate's comments. She now regretted giving the only tranquilizer bullets they had left to Sophie. She was obviously more preoccupied with bickering than taking care of the immediate threat that charged toward them shaking the ground.

The zombie's face was scrunched up in pain, and it appeared as though he had begun gnawing on his arm in desperation for flesh.

The zombie was closer now and Sophie finally shot him a second time.

"Uhh." Hardison said nervously looking down at the group and back at the elephant that continued to storm down the row toward his friends. The two tranquilizer darts did nothing.

"Again?" Hardison offered weakly.

"It's my last one." Sophie said nervously.

After the cure was found the tranquilizer cures took care of zombie's left and right. On their latest mission they hadn't even bothered bringing other weapons, knowing that they could just cure the zombies rather than kill them. They were all now realizing that that was a big mistake.

"Do it!" Nate yelled, grabbing for the back of Sophie's shirt to pull her back.

The enormous mucus filled creature was now mere feet away and showed no signs of slowing down.

Sophie's eyes went wide and she shot off her last tranquilizer dart. This time it hit him smack in the forehead and drained straight into his skull.

Everyone watched as he slowed and wavered. Parker let out a soft breath of relief until it caught in her throat as the large warehouse worker zombie started forward again.

Parker looked up at Hardison and without warning leapt onto a box and into the air, reaching up for Hardison's hand. He quickly grabbed it, pulling her up onto the shelving unit beside him.

"Get her up." Hardison yelled down to Nate, kneeling to reach for Sophie's arm.

"It's almost here!" Parker screeched as Nate and Sophie backed up, ready to turn and run.

Parker wasn't exaggerating. The mass of puss could have spit and hit them at this range. Parker shuddered at the thought.

The fat zombie was seconds away from lobbing itself at Sophie. It let out a murderous blubbering roar. Mid yell, his voice cut short and green goo splattered onto the floor.

As the zombie fell to the ground with a thud, everyone stared in horror and amusement as Eliot's form became known wielding a wooden beam, with a now unmistakable bloody stain on it.

Everything was silent as they watched him breathing heatedly.

"I think he's turning into the hulk." Hardison whispered into Parker's ear.

Parker kept her focus on Eliot, unsure whether to laugh or be nervous. She had never seen him like this before, ever. Even when things had been at their worst, he had never been more stressed out than he was at this moment.

"I said we needed to leave." Eliot said slowly in the voice that caused mountains to quiver in fear.

Each looked at the other.

"We haven't found it yet." Sophie said cautiously.

"I-DON'T-CARE. I don't fucking have time for this!" He clawed both of his hands through his hair. Parker was sure he would rip it out altogether.

Parker was about to hop down when Hardison let out a whoop of success.

"Found it!" Hardison called, dragging a box from the back of the shelf and easing it down to Nate.

"LET'S GO!" Eliot shrieked, not being able to handle the rest of the team's ability to procrastinate at such a time. He looked frantically back down at his watch and stormed forward.

Sophie figured that they could have shot Eliot with twenty tranquilizer darts and it would have had no effect. He was a man on a mission and nothing and no one would get in his way.

Eliot stormed forward and grabbed Parker by the wrist as she stepped down from the massive shelf and Sophie by the arm pulling them forward with him and dragging them toward the exit.

Nate and Eliot quickly lifted the box, each taking one side and followed the trio in front out of the warehouse.

_In the waiting room:_

"How do you think it's going?" Sophie asked Nate as she fiddled with the edges of her shirt.

Nate's eyes were shut as he leaned back on his chair, his head resting against the wall.

"For the thousandth time, I don't know." He griped, turning his head to look at her. They had been sitting in the waiting room going on five hours and there was still no news.

Sophie cleared her throat in distaste and decided to change the subject. "So." She said nonchalantly.

"When are we going to talk about having kids of our own?"

Both Parker and Hardison looked up from the floor in awkward surprise. Both relished the opportunity to listen to the answer.

Hardison turned back and began screwing in one of the nails into the new crib that they had retrieved.

"We are not going to talk about this right now." He glanced over at a overly interested Parker. "This is definitely not the right time." Nate responded, glaring at her.

"Well, I feel like it's the perfect time to talk about it." Nate remained silent. Finally, Sophie crossed her arms and turned her head to Parker and Hardison in an annoyed fashion.

"So, almost finished yet?" She asked. She observed the scene. Both Parker and Hardison were sprawled out on the tile floor with different parts of the crib strewn around them. Parker sat with the instructions, looking at it pensively then following to tell Hardison he was building it incorrectly.

"Almost…if Parker will just tell me which screw goes on this side of the crib. I swear we've been doing this for the last three hours."

Nate piped up at this in his usual sarcastic manner. "How many thieves does it take to put together a baby's crib?"

Sophie smacked him.

Without warning something slammed and crashed up against the door to the delivery room.

A murderous scream came from the room and without another beat Chaos came stumbling out of the delivery room with a busted video camera.

"Really, was that necessary?" Sophie scolded looking down from the camera up to Chaos's red face which was currently stricken with fear.

Chaos shrugged and sat down a few chairs away from Nate, picking up a magazine and flipping through it.

"I think it's done!" Parker called in triumph.

Both Parker and Hardison turned the crib up onto its wheels. It was, by all standards the best baby crib that was made before the zombie outbreak. They had to use a variety of hacking sleuthing skills to track down the highest quality baby crib in the United States. This new baby would live in the lap of luxury. Five thieves would make sure that it wanted for nothing.

Everyone spent a few moments admiring the craftsmanship.

Immediately, the door to the delivery room swung open and Eliot all but flew into the room.

"It's coming!" His adrenaline was on high and his face transformed from horror to excitement to a look of nausea and back to horror again. He flew up to Parker and shook her a few times. "THE BABY IS COMING!"

Parker nodded, jumping up and down with him. She was seriously worried for his sanity. She had never seen him act this way before. He was an entirely different person.

As soon as he came, he disappeared back into the delivery room. Everyone went silent looking back and forth in anticipation.

Mikel and Eliot both chose not to know the sex of the baby, so everyone waited impatiently to see their new addition. No one more than Eliot.

Screams and cursing in Hebrew were heard from behind the closed doors. Everyone looked worriedly at the other unsure who would end up making it out of that room alive. Hardison mused at the thought of a screaming female retrieval specialist and felt so much better about being out of the delivery room. He subconsciously took a step back wondering what was about to be thrown out of the delivery room next.

All of a sudden, there was silence then a baby's cry broke through the air. A few minutes went by. The group could barely stand it.

Parker snuck her hand into Hardison's, squeezing it tight. He turned to her with excited eyes and pulled the back of her hand up to his lips and gave it a tender kiss. They only spent a moment gazing into the other's eyes when the delivery room door slowly opened.

Eliot walked out, looking lovingly down at the creature, folded in blankets, in his arms. Parker smiled as she watched him. Within this one moment, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his sadness had passed. His eyes watched the bundle in his arms as he slowly made his way out into the center of the room. He finally looked up.

Sophie raced up to look at the child. Chaos disappeared into the delivery room to check on Mikel. Nate, Parker and Hardison slowly walked up.

They stood in a circle around the child, looking down at it.

"It's a girl." Eliot whispered.

Everyone was silent as the quiet child lay there, encircled by the five thieves, being held by the most protective father she would ever know.

Her skin was as soft and warm as Mikel's.

Everyone watched as the precious gift in Eliot's arms wriggled, and then it happened.

The tiny figure in Eliot's arms opened her eyes. They were magnificent. It was piercing look that Eliot always gave. She didn't cry, she didn't struggle, she just took in the large forms before her in curiosity, ready to face the world without fear.

"She's beautiful." Nate breathed reaching out.

"She's perfect." Eliot added without the slightest hesitation.

The little girl grabbed Nate's index finger in her tiny grasp. "Oh!" He said surprised. "And she had both her parent's strength too."

So they stood there in a circle surrounding this new baby for what seemed like an eternity.

Their new future had arrived.


End file.
